Mass Effect: The Sheep, the Shepard, the Farmers, and the Wolf
by Dr.Compass
Summary: The year is 2183, the Harvesters are closing in, and the Galaxy is still oblivious to the impending threat. As Fredrick races around to prepare, a deceivingly insignificant figure arrives, believing the reality he tries to inform everyone of. Now Nazara has Saren strung up, it's all a mad race to stall the Harvesters, and raise awareness. Rated M for consistency and some themes.
1. Chapter 1: Introductions

(A/N): Hi, and welcome to Mass Effect 1, probably the main reason why most of you are reading this in the first place. I could never really decide whether or not this game was better or worse than its successors despite its flaws. Naturally, due to the fact Shepard now has a T-800 along, things are going to be different, but hey, this is fanfiction, I've been remaining mostly loyal to the canon for the sake of consistency and familiarity.

Chapter 1: Introductions

 _Back on the move against the Harvesters with Wrex, five kids, and myself. Given our current team composition, I'm not sure just how ironic this is, considering my own experience leading my own team. I'm not sure just how being on a team with significantly less experience and capability is going to help me stop those bastards, but if things fall just into place, I might make this work._

* * *

 **Jan 30, 2183**

 **15 hrs/31 min/10 sec**

 **Zakera Ward back alleys, Citadel Station**

Despite all good intentions she had, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. She'd just torn like hell through the Citadel to find Tali, narrowly finding everyone who could help her, and she nearly just lost all her progress to the white and maroon tin can that just wouldn't seem to go away indefinitely. At least he was trying to make amends right off the bat and not show his more infamous brash behavior. "Yes, that's me. And I presume you are the famous Fredrick Müller, Butcher of Torfan?"

Fredrick suppressed any reaction to the name and said, "Among other names, yes I am. Now am I correct to presume that the memory file this woman carries is vital to your mission as well?"

"Yeah, the last bit of remaining dirt we might ever have against Saren. If we've heard correctly, it concerns the Geth's recent activities," the young Williams said.

Fredrick's heart stopped for a fraction of a second when he heard Saren's name drop. "Saren? What the hell does he have to do with the Geth?" Fredrick asked, keeping his shock hidden.

"He's knee deep in this," Vakarian Jr. explained. "He's been on his own for the last few years, off on his own agenda. I was doing a case on Specter Arterius when the incident of Eden Prime occurred."

 _"No, Saren. Not you too."_ Fredrick paused for a moment, contemplating his next course of action. "Get back to the _Persistence_ , and inform Burke that I'll be following a lead. I'll send back a copy of the intel," he ordered his soldiers to leave. "Commander, I know this is a bit of a stretch, but I'd like to be along for your current mission. I've had some history with Saren that I'd like to take care of."

 _"What the hell could he want with Saren?"_ Linda thought. _"I'm pretty sure I would've heard about any headbutting between Saren and Müller."_ After some thought, Linda said, "I'll take as much help as I can against Saren."

"Thank you, commander. I greatly appreciate this opportunity," Fredrick said with a nod. _"What the hell happened, Saren? Where are you?"_

As the group left the alleyway with Tali safely in tow, a few conversations sparked among the team. Ashley had asked Linda, "Are you sure letting an Aug onto the team is also necessary, commander? Don't get me wrong, I trust your judgment, but this guy is called the Wolf for a reason."

"You're not telling me anything new, chief. I just hope he has some useful beef with Saren," Linda said. She hoped it was something minor, but the brief pause Major Müller had given possibly shed some light on a deeper connection.

Fredrick, reunited with Wrex, was now conversing about his recent job. "So, and now you're tailing Shepard? What for?"

"I did a job for Saren temporarily, and I narrowly escaped being executed. I don't know what the hell was going on, but Saren wants something buried," Wrex explained.

* * *

 **16 hrs/02 min/12 sec**

 **Alliance Embassy, Presidium, Citadel Station**

He already didn't like the ambassador. The pompous, graying little man was as loud as he was obnoxious. Shepard, as she said to be called by, had just saved him months of political backwash and the little shit was still being ungrateful. Perhaps he was in reality a much more enjoyable individual, but he sure as hell wasn't doing any work to establish any good personality.

Tali had been on her pilgrimage when she and her crew found the detachment of Geth units and retrieved the audio files. Since then, Saren had been sending after her assassins and mercenaries to get back the information. He knew the Quarians were resourceful as hell, but he was honestly surprised she was still alive by the time the two groups found her. While most of the Geth memory had been fried when she fully retrieved the memory core, she still had a few files saved. "Most of the core was wiped clean, but I salvaged most of its audio banks," Tali said, taping her omnitool.

Without mistake, Fredrick could recognize Saren's voice as Tali played the clip. _"The images from that beacon still doesn't make sense,"_ his voice hissed.

 _"Perhaps I should have another look? I only keep getting bits and pieces, and I can't get a good understanding if I'm not attached for long enough,"_ a feminine voice called. Wait, he heard that voice before. Could it be… Benezia?

 _"No no no! That hasn't been helping! I've been cycling through the memories, but I can't find anything of use. Have a patrol sent back out to that ship, downed ship, perhaps there's still something about the conduit there, maybe check some of the other possible assets I've listed for retrieval,"_ Saren ordered.

 _"You do realize the Reapers' patience isn't infinite?"_ Benezia groaned.

 _"I know, but at least the visit to Eden Prime slowed them down. Even if it doesn't prove helpful to us, it doesn't prove helpful to them,"_ Saren stated as the audio finally cut out.

"That's Saren alright," Captain Anderson said from the side.

"I don't recognize that other voice, the one talking about the Reapers," Udina said.

Fredrick spoke up, saying, "Her name is Benezia T'soni, an Asari Matriarch. I had met her briefly, and I don't know why she would be assisting Saren in this endeavor."

"What the hell do they mean by 'Reapers'?" Ashley asked.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were an incredibly advanced race of synthetics that existed fifty thousand years ago. They are rumored to have forced the Protheans' extinction before completely vanishing, and the Geth worship them as gods," Tali explained.

"Sounds a bit far-fetched," Udina commented.

"Sounds just about right. The Terran Republic has been going toe-to-toe with the Harvester for quite a bit. I don't know why Saren is calling them Reapers instead of the term I gave him, but perhaps it means something more significant. The Harvesters as we call them are, just as explained, an ancient race of synthetics that have been clearing out space-faring civilization after space-faring civilization for eons. They made and own the Citadel Station and the Relay System, and use it to their fullest advantage during the end of each 'cycle.' As for why they endlessly consume, we don't know. We've been trying to dig up as much as we can on them, but the bastards are very thorough when it comes to cleaning up clues. Additionally, any structures they create are capable of brainwashing those who are greatly exposed, slowly converting them into puppets for their own use, so for all I know, Saren's acting outside of his own will right now," Fredrick explained.

"The Vision on Eden Prime, I understand it now. It's a warning. The Reapers burned them down, and they tried to get word to us so we can stop them," Linda said, acknowledging the information she'd gotten from the beacon.

"Oh, the council is just going to love this," Udina continued to complain.

"What connection did you have to Saren?" Linda asked.

"This is classified, but I may as well get this out into the open if we are going to follow through getting Saren stripped of his Specter status. Almost thirty cycles ago, I was assigned to personally train him by the council. He stood out as an exceptional recruit, the council wanted reestablished connection with us, and they wanted a super soldier amongst their agents' ranks, so everyone was happy," Fredrick answered.

"That explains why he was such a pain in the ass on Eden Prime. We had a small firefight with him just after he killed Nihlus," Ashley grimaced. With the notification of Saren killing his own protégé, he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Then perhaps you could identify the ship Saren arrived in on Eden Prime? Is it a Reaper ship?" Linda asked as she walked up taping her omnitool. The orange, ghostly image of a Harvester showed up, causing Fredrick's still hidden face to lose all color. All he could feel was dread, knowing that Saren had been consumed by his mortal enemy.

After taking a few pauses, he answered, "That's no Reaper ship, that's a full blown Reaper and it's on the move. If Saren has been spending time on that ship, then he is most certainly infected by now."

"Any idea what the Conduit is?" Anderson asked.

"Hell if I know, last time I had to deal with a Harvester-caused incident, it took place on the Citadel. For all I know, whatever needs to happen to let them back into the Galaxy is on this station, so perhaps it's some system master-switch to let him in." Fredrick bit back mentioning the incident of 2069, and was dreading the inevitable, similar encounter he'd have with Saren.

"If you had known earlier about the Reapers, why not bring that up with the council?" Wrex asked.

"We did, and that didn't go nearly as well as we expected. They didn't believe it, and the case got buried. We wanted to bring it up with the Systems Alliance after reestablishing connection, but we were and still are on tenuous terms, and talking about gloom and doom won't mend old wounds," Fredrick stated.

"We have to tell this to the council. Even if they don't believe us, they have to listen and know that Saren is a traitor!" Anderson exclaimed. Fredrick could understand any rage Anderson still carried for Saren, as the later did cripple the former's Specter candidacy.

"I'll try to get another hearing with the council," Udina said flat as ever.

"What about her? The Quarian?" Wrex asked.

"My name is Tali!" Tali screeched, obviously taken aback.

"She's useful. She may just be a kid, but she's clearly capable of defending herself," Shepard defended. "Even then, she's a witness, and we'll need everything we can get if Fredrick's any proof of the council's stubbornness."

"Good, now let's get going," Shepard ordered the group.

As everyone poured out to head to the Citadel elevator, Fredrick caught the younger Vakarian's attention and asked, "Excuse me Officer Vakarian, I never got your name. I know of a Julianos Vakarian, are you possibly related to him?"

"Please, name's Garrus, and Julianos is my father. I'd prefer if you just referred to me by my first name," Garrus explained as he walked out. "My father told me about you from his calls from work, claimed you were a troublemaker."

"If it's anything I know about your father is that he's hell-bent on zealously following the rules," Fredrick responded with a roll of his eyes as the two followed behind everyone else out of the embassy.

"Spirits, how I wish that weren't true."

* * *

 **17 hrs/05 min/45 sec**

 **Citadel Tower, Citadel Station**

What mattered was action was being taken. Even if the council doubted every word about the Harvesters, and the horrendous five minutes were spent resisting the urge to go to a corner and snipe Councilor Tevos, it was a job well done. Saren had unfortunately been deemed a traitor and Linda Shepard had been given the title of the first Human Specter to go pursue Saren and stop whatever he was hoping to achieve. It only hurt him more to see Saren's now synthesized body, trapped alone in his mind and unaware of what he is doing.

After accomplishing a small list of random tasks for strangers and doing some minor shopping, the crew had returned to the boarding dock of the SR-1 _Normandy_. Anderson had just yielded command of the _Normandy_ to Shepard for means of transportation to pursue Saren. The prototype stealth ship was small, but had a lot of equipment packed into such a tight space. After giving her a brief overview of the leads to follow, Anderson approached Fredrick saying, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Fredrick asked with confusion. "Sorry about what?"

"Saren. I hadn't realized you had a connection. I can understand how this mission may have some greater weight to you," Anderson continued.

Straightening up, he replied, "No, it's alright, you helped me to better understand the mistake I've made. I probably should've been easier on him as a kid, would've saved us the trouble now. I've had to do something similar to the task at hand before; putting him down shouldn't be too problematic. Besides, I believe what said when I claimed that bringing up the Harvesters would've only complicated relations between the Republic and Alliance."

"I'm fine with that. And are you referring to when you say that you've done this before?" Anderson responded cautiously.

Alice's face briefly flashed before him as he blinked. "That's a story for another day. It's in the past now, and represents a different era."

"I see. Good luck out there, and keep Shepard safe for me. We all depend on her," Anderson said, waving to Fredrick as he walked up the boarding gate.

* * *

 **Jan 31, 2183**

 **07 hrs/24 min/11 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **SR-1, en route to the Artemus Tau cluster**

As the _Normandy_ to retrieve Liara T'soni, Benezia's daughter and one of Saren's targets, Fredrick walked around the halls, becoming accustomed to the crew and taking not of any medical needs that were required as part of his medical routine. He strode up the bridge, walking towards the front of the ship and to the pilot. His gaze swept back and forth between the rows of crewmembers until he reached the cockpit. After taking a good medical scan of Lieutenant Moreau, he asked, "I presume everything is alright up here?"

"Gah! Jesus you're quiet for your size, and here I was thinking that now that Nihlus was dead that I could stop having to glance over my shoulder every now and then," the flight lieutenant said with a start.

"Have some respect for the dead. Anyways, as the new medical officer aboard this ship, I'm going over medial scans and taking into account the needs of the crew. From just standing here, I can tell you have Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease," Fredrick said.

The pilot looked back with confusion. "Wait, you can do that?"

"Of course! I have advanced ocular enhancements that allow me to see biometrics, bodily functions, and exrays, as well as the increased visible spectrum, the ability to see through walls, increased visual range, and resistance to harm," he explained.

"Oh. So, you deal with cases like mine before?" Jeff asked.

"Nah, you're a first. Due to the use of nanites, we've effectively rid ourselves of genetic diseases and malformations. We can rearrange genetics in utero and up to about seventeen years of age," Fredrick continued.

"So, it would be possible to treat my condition then?" the lieutenant asked curiously.

"Unfortunately not, Mr. Moreau. Given that you've aged beyond the given threshold, it's too late to treat you of your fragile condition. However, we can alter your body so that any progenitors you do have will never suffer the same condition," Fredrick stated, popping the pilot's hope.

"Shit," he said shaking a light fist. "Name's Jeff 'Joker' Moreau by the way, but so no need to refer to the surname, and most call me Joker."

"Major Fredrick Müller. I've read your record and I must say I'm very impressed, much like an old friend of mine. Anyways, nice becoming accustomed to you, but I've got other issues to attend to. I'll catch you later, Joker" Fredrick saluted.

"See you around, Freddy," Joker said with a friendly wave.

Fredrick stopped for a moment and turned around, saying, "Call me anything _but_ Freddy, please."

"Uh- yeah, sorry!" Joker stuttered as Fredrick walked off.

Moving onto the second deck, he swept around, attending a few questions before moving onto a young, Canadian kid with black, wavy hair. "Excuse me, I don't believe we've met yet, what's your name?" he asked as he pulled up his omnitool.

Wiping the sweat off his brow and slowly turning to meet him, the man said, "I'm Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, you?" Kaidan held out a hand for Fredrick to shake.

Shaking his hand, Fredrick said, "Major Fredrick Müller. Say, I didn't think the Alliance still used L2 implants, I thought they were dangerous."

Scratching the back of his head, Alenko answered, "Yeah, well the old L2s still have their advantages despite the migraines. So I heard you had history with Saren. May I ask what?"

"Mentor for his Specter status, probably the main reason why he's as fucked as he is, excluding his possible infection. So, will I need to be administering anything in the field for possible migraines?" he asked back.

"Just painkillers. Any plans for when you meet back up with Saren?" he asked.

Fredrick looked down and shook his head. "Depends on the extent of his condition. If he is beyond the threshold of no return, there is no way I can treat him. He will have to die."

With a light shrug, Kaidan said, "Well, that's that. See you around, doc."

"Likewise, Kaidan," Fredrick saluted back. Funny how he be referred to as "doctor." He always thought of himself as more a distributor of death than life.

Arriving at the third level in the exasperatingly slow elevator, he proceeded to make his way to the eezo core and check with the crew there. As he entered, he met up with Tali, and asked, "How are you holding up so far, Tali?"

The young girl was practically on her toes with excitement. "This ship is amazing! I can't believe how smooth and quietly it is!" she exclaimed over the hissing of the engine.

"Indeed. I presume the commander was smart enough to take care of food requirements. Excluding normal medical requirements for Quarians, is there anything else I need to be careful of?" he asked.

Tali sighed with annoyance before saying, "Just because I'm a Quarian on my pilgrimage doesn't mean that I'm vulnerable, I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure Dr. Chakwas can deal with any issues I have."

"And as a field medic myself, it is my duty to take into consideration the needs and specifications of those I fight along side, so I do apologize if my questions seem intrusive," Fredrick argued back. "Anyways, you wouldn't happen to be related to an Admiral Luf'Zorah?"

"He was my grandfather, and he was a former admiral of the Rayya before my father Rael'Zorah took over in his stead. You know him?" Tali answered with surprise.

"Only on a couple of occasions. He's a nice, if not a bit timid, man, and you're lucky to have such a man as your grandfather," Fredrick commented.

"Thanks, but he died the same time my mother did when a plague swept through the Flotilla," she said somberly.

"Shame, Luf deserved better," he said with a sigh. "Anyways, you're health condition looks good. I'll be on my way then. Have a nice day, Tali." He made his way, and just gave a light scan over Wrex.

"Müller," Wrex nodded.

"Wrex," he nodded in return as he walked over to Ashley's post. He walked up behind her as she was meticulously cleaning out various weapons. "Excuse me Gunnery Chief Williams, I see that you've been recently posted on the _Normandy_. Is that correct?" he asked.

Looking away from her work briefly, she asked, "Yeah, I got reposted after the attack on Eden Prime aboard this ship. I've mostly been serving on colonies up until this point. What's it matter to you, major?"

"Becoming accustomed to the crew, you mentioned you'd encountered Saren down there. What was he like?" he asked further.

"Besides looking cut up as hell, smeared with dirt and blood, and having what looked like a Geth arm? Barking orders at the various Geth units to start cleaning up the place. He had several nuclear devices planted on the colony to remove any evidence he was there," she answered. "I'd hate to say it, but you did a very good job training that animal."

"That's what I'd like to think. Do you have anything you need?" he continued.

She ignored him, only giving enough attention span to say, "Look, I shouldn't be wasting time when there's work to do, especially when the commander's around."

Turning away from Ashley's workplace, he saw Linda get off the elevator and approach Garrus, probably to evaluate the Mako before dropping on Therum. He walked over to their side of the deck and waited patiently as he looked over a datapad. He took note of the friendly banter between the two of them while he finished up taking notes on the individual medical needs of the crew. When Shepard finally finished up with Garrus, she approached Fredrick.

"Taking full account of the medical needs of the crew. You did bring along Dextro-based rations, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. Anything you need?" she asked.

"I had ordered a spare supply cabinet of equipment for specialized needs of Terran soldiers and stored it aboard the cargo. I'll try to keep my equipment separated from that of the non-synth crew," he answered.

"Alright, so tell me about yourself," Linda proceeded to ask.

He didn't know why, but questions asking to reveal a piece of his inner workings scared him, and he always avoided these sorts of questions. "I'm pretty sure the same information is readily available somewhere, why not check there?" he returned.

Shifting her weight and giving a suspicious glance, she continued, "Okay, perhaps something a little more off the records and specific. I know this has been asked repeatedly at this point, but I'll get straight to the point. I know you were once Saren Arterius' mentor. How'd that come to be?"

Fredrick nodded. She was trying to ease any tension and earn trust, fair enough. "Well, we haven't exactly been on the best terms with everyone else. We try, but walking around as part synth is hard in the face of the Quarians' creation of the Geth. The council recognized that our partnership was still important, and wanted to up the ante when it came to their Specters. They felt they could kill two birds with one stone by having me train Saren, or at least the kid he was at the time."

She gave a curious raise of an eyebrow. "So, you're saying he wasn't a murderous asshole once upon a time."

"Not at all, he was young, naïve, and patriotic like Garrus over there. Didn't expect the hell I'd drag him through to teach him how to play supersoldier," Fredrick continued.

"So, how did you get to become involved with the Reapers? Maybe you could provide better insight?" she prodded further.

Damn, she was incredibly curious. "A Harvester by the name of Nazara tried to make a rush for the Citadel using some of our own people. We didn't have the needed proof to provide something was up with them and we caught a lot of flak for it. Years later after trying to find who they were, Nazara approached us with proposition to be uplifted in return for essentially doing its bidding. I turned down the offer."

"Well, if Wrex is any indication, sounds like you've had a hell of a record," she admired.

Fredrick chuckled before explaining, "So you'd think. If anything, I'm just like any other actively travelling soldier across the galaxy, a glorified errand boy. I'll admit, my methods are extreme, but justified in the long term."

"And what about Torfan? I'm pretty sure not everyone had to die there, especially the civilians."

Okay, now he no longer had any understanding of Linda. When he'd first read her record, she'd spent most of her childhood running with a gang known as the Tenth Street Reds. Given that background, he'd expected her to be much more aggressive. "When you're given little to no idea what to accomplish and a large number of soldiers who have barely any field experience, you'd understand."

"So why do you constantly switch languages? I've noticed you don't really consistently stick to one tongue or another," she said with a confused look.

"Our neural network allows us to share knowledge and memories. We can understand other languages without having to learn them ourselves, and it reaches the point where some do have minor issues distinguishing one language from another, causing the habit for those who are bilingual to freely use two languages interchangeably," he explained with a light chuckle.

She nodded and said, "I see. I won't take any more of your time, major."

"If you so wish to avoid formalities, Shepard, you can do likewise. When do we reach the Knossos System?" he asked as he began to walk towards the elevator.

"A few more hours, so be ready."

* * *

(P.S.): No doubt the other party characters had this sort of conversation amongst themselves at some point during the early stages of the game, so I'd thought I do so from Fredrick's side. Additionally, I wanted to get the intro conversation between Fredrick and Shepard out of the way for the most part.


	2. Chapter 2: Knee Deep Rescue

(A/N): I did go through Mass Effect a few times, however I can't play it on the computer I'm using right now, so bare with me. I'll do my best to occasionally look up the transcript somewhere on Youtube or something similar, if not rewrite them myself because the lines seemed out of place. C'mon, Mass Effect is basically Star Wars without the Force-religion part, so all the cheesy lines are still here.

Chapter 2: Knee Deep Rescue

 _I honestly didn't expect much from this team when I started, and I was right for about the first two months. They weren't nearly as well coordinated, they didn't have my level of training save for Linda, and weren't nearly as robust save for Wrex. But these kids were young, and they did learn surprisingly quickly as we went down to more and more missions. Given their inexperience and how much of a complete clusterfuck these missions were, I'm surprised we hadn't lost more along the way._

* * *

 **Feb 1, 2183**

 **11 hrs/03 min/09 sec**

 **Therum orbit, Knossos System, Artemus Tau cluster, SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **third deck**

Fredrick finished double-checking his gear as he walked into the hanger-like area of the _Normandy_. Shepard decided to take Garrus, Ashley, and him down to the fiery planet below to investigate the signal. Understandably, Shepard wanted to test out some of the newer members on the team, including Ashley to some extent. The four of them met at the infamous Mako to drop from orbit.

As he climbed in and shut the door behind him, he heard the pressurized seals lock into place before sitting down on one of the benches of the. Shepard took the wheel, Ashley took control of the tank gun, and Garrus and he sat back and kept eyes on the radar monitors. "Joker, Mako is functional and we are ready to go. Make the drop," Linda said over the coms.

 _"Gotcha commander. Just be aware I'll be dropping you some distance from the source of the signal. I've got a pretty good view from up here and I don't like those hostile signals. Making the run. Dropping in three, two, one…."_ The top-heavy piece of scrap metal went rolling out of the _Normandy_ third deck and rapidly descended to the planet below. The thrusters on the vehicle significantly reduced the vehicle's fall before coming a complete stop on the volcanic planet. _"Hey Shepard, from where I've dropped you, I've marked the destination on the radar, and have set up the safest path based upon the planet geometry."_

"Good work, Joker. Keep within radio contact, I'll let you know when we need pickup." The Mako rolled over the uneven territory, and conditions only got worse as the tank made turns along the path through the mountains.

"Ma'am, is there any way you could possibly improve your driving? I can't get a clear shot on these armatures!" Ashley complained.

"I agree, I'm starting to feel a bit nauseated," Garrus added, as his head began to sway.

"I wouldn't say that the rough conditions are entirely the commander's fault." The other two stopped to look at him for a moment. "I had spoken with a former teammate a while back about the M35 model, and he proclaimed the vehicle to be a badly designed heap of garbage. Besides the protection, firepower, and transportation it does bring tot table, you may as well fight with boots on the ground."

"Well, if you want to walk Aug, be my-" Ashley started before the whole vehicle shook violently.

"Commander! What is Spirits' name is going on out there? You do know I have to repair this thing _after_ the mission, or are you putting dents in the armor to spite me?" Garrus yelled at Shepard over the roar of the engine and metallic scraping from outside.

"Well excuse me! It's not my fault that Ashley stopped firing for you to have a conversation," Shepard argued. "Now get back to work, I'm going to try and take out these rocket turrets."

Fredrick got up from his position in the back and walked up to the front of the tank and peered out the front to get a good view of the enemy opposition. The Mako was going around a sharp turn to face the front of a small stronghold, where the Geth had set up rocket turrets. The wall was low, but the valley walls were too steep to drive over and the wall was too high for the thrusters to lunge over. "Commander, even if we take down those turrets, we won't get through from this path. I'd suggest finding a way around."

Linda gave him an annoyed look before returning, "If you're so goddam smart, why aren't you the CO on this mission?"

"I don't need rank to get shit done, commander. Besides, there is only so long one can be in a naval uniform before getting completely sick of their job," he countered.

"Well, it's good to know I brought you along for a reason," Linda said as she drove down a rather convenient side path and had another rocket turret shot to pieces. "Also, if you have such objections against the Mako, feel free to jump out and shoot these guys instead."

Fredrick walked to the back of the vehicle and hit the "deploy" button on the door panel before saying, "gladly." He jumped out to see the Mako ram into a Geth Juggernaut and fire directly at it, swiftly reducing its shields. As he looked around, he saw the Geth Rocket Troops had already begun firing at him, one destroyer was sent tumbling back from Shepard's initial attack, and most of the small troops were focused on the Mako, and the heavier troops were disproportionately focused on him. Instinctively, Fredrick flung the rockets around at the Geth Destroyer and released a biotic shockwave at the other rocket troops. While the Destroyer was still stumbling, he quickly pegged multiple shots against its head and decapitated it.

Shepard had quickly taken down the Juggernaut before beginning to ram the footsoldiers around, taking small potshots at them. With two more inbound rockets, Fredrick continued to use the enemy munitions against the remaining Geth Destroyer, engulfing the giant in a ball of fire. As Shepard, Ashley, and Garrus climbed out of the Mako, Fredrick quickly gunned down the remaining rocket troops without second thought.

"You know, you're more of a frontline soldier than you are a field medic," Shepard said as the two began to salvage the industrial site, clearing a few Geth inside of the buildings.

Fredrick shrugged as the group walked along, saying, "Well I'm not going to sit in that box with my dick in my hand while you have all the fun."

"Laugh it up, Fred. I'll be opening the gate to let us keep going, get back to the Mako," she ordered.

"Ma'am, can we wait a few minutes before going on? My head is still spinning," Ashley complained.

"Suck it up, chief. Ms. T'soni isn't going to get herself out of Geth territory. If intel is correct, she's just an archeologist," the group swiftly dashed back to the Mako as the gate on the other side of the camp opened, allowing them to proceed. As the vehicle began to move again, Linda asked Fredrick, "Oh, and doc, let me know when you are about to jump out next time?"

Ignoring the large bump the tank rolled over, he answered, "I thought I made it pretty clear I was jumping out."

"And I was with the comforting notion we only had one reckless teammate to worry about," Garrus commented.

"Hostiles ahead, take 'em out, chief," Shepard ordered as the group approached more armatures in the distance.

The rest of the trip was rather boring for Fredrick, being confined in the interior of a personnel carrier, only hearing the conflict but not actually enjoying it. The cabin was filled with Shepard, Vakarian, and Williams communicating with each other, but because they all manned vital equipment while he sat in back. Eventually, the tank came to a screeching halt with another violent shake, and the cabin tilted at a forty-five-degree angle. "Oh, for Christ sake! The Mako wasn't going to fit through there!"

Once again getting up and exiting the back hatch, Fredrick lept out of the Mako to get a better view of the situation. Linda had attempted to drive through a small entry in the rocks as the group approached the source of the signal. As the others climbed out, he tugged at the tank's underside before finally yanking it out of the opening, but now on its side. "Path is clear, commander. Get going, I'll get the tank back on its wheels for departure."

"Wait, how'd you yank the Mako out of that hole? The vehicle is some twenty-five kilos last time I checked the statistics," Garrus said with light shock.

"Superiorly built arms, I'll go into details later, now get going," Fredrick said as he yanked the tank out further into open ground. After the group had gone through, Fredrick walked around to the "top" of the Mako when he eyed the opening the others left through. Looking from a sideways angle, the opening was just roughly wider than the Mako's height. He'd done dumber things in the past, but this would take the cake.

Returning to the back of the Mako, he began to shove the tank through the opening while he heard Shepard and the others fire their weapons in the distance. As the combat became more and more distant, he gradually got the Mako through. After pushing the vehicle through and back onto its wheels, he noticed a Geth dropship fly overhead. Climbing back in and taking the wheel, he began to drive the clumsy hunk of metal in worry that Shepard and the others might be overrun.

Nolan wasn't lying when he said the vehicle was poorly designed. The steering and brakes responded slowly, it threatened to flip with every turn, and the suspension made it jump with even the smallest bumps. As he got to the top of the hill, he was grateful he managed to catch Shepard and her team when he did. The trio was surrounded by a multitude of snipers, stalkers, shock troops, and a single colossus. After a shot from the colossus sent Ashley flying, Shepard call over his intercom, _Müller! Where the hell are you?_

"Not too far behind," he said, adjusting the Mako into full gear, before driving forward, ramming down Geth troops before crashing into the colossus, effectively pinning it to the ground. As he lept out of the hatch for the second time that day, he made short work of the shock troopers and snipers he ran over on the way in. After doubling back to finish off the colossus, he went over to Ashley to start healing her. "Hold on, Williams. I've got you," he comforted as he released a stream of black nanites into her body, seamlessly sinking into the armor like water into a cloth.

"Well, I take back everything I said earlier. You're actually not too bad," Linda said, giving him a nod of approval.

"Good to know I'm becoming part of the team composition," he said helped up Ashley before turning to Garrus' injuries. "How are you holding up, commander?"

"I've got a medical exoskeleton, I'll be fine," she said as she made way for the mine entrance. The group, now fully healed, made their way to the door, and made their stride down into the depths of the planet.

The dig site very much reminded Fredrick of various security retrieval missions he took during much of his service, killing pirates and mercenaries who were dumb enough to think they could take him down. Besides the few drones, Geth soldier, and shock trooper, there wasn't any initial resistance to their entrance. The pristine, clean panels of the Prothean structure looked like they'd barely aged despite the years of environmental wear they'd have received. "Whatever the Protheans may have been like, you can't deny how well they've designed their infrastructure if they'd last this long under adverse conditions," he commented as they rode down another mine lift. The elevator came to a halt against a broken platform just short of the level they were getting off at.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" a feminine voice called as the group got off. As the team got off to confront a young Asari trapped in a Prothean security gate, he walked over to a Salarian miner's corpse, lying on the ground in the corner. As Shepard talked to what he could only presume was Liara T'soni based on genetics, he picked the Salarian's equipment, locked into the grip. It was a Terran-made mining variant railgun, a weapon and tool used for industrial, construction, mining, and military purposes. Despite how young Liara was, she sure knew how to equip her workers properly.

After searching around, he couldn't find any additional mining rods on the body and checked the ammo counter. Six rounds of high-explosive rods sent at ridiculously high velocities to use against whatever remaining troubles they had along the way off of Therum, but just short of a full clip. At the grip was a thumb-pressed detonator, triggering any rods fired after a given duration. As he walked back over to Shepard, she and the other two were firing at a few Geth below. "We need to find a way around this barrier to shut off the security system on the other side. She's stuck in there until we turn it off manually, and I don't want to keep her waiting any longer," she told him.

"Of course, right on that," he said calmly, firing a mining rod between a Geth shock trooper and sniper, reducing the two to their fundamental parts. Garrus shot the other two Geth units before Fredrick could launch another round. "Impressive work, Garrus."

"Well I can't let you take _all_ the kills," Garrus responded with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh please, I did allow you to go ahead while I pushed the Mako through. You got to shoot stuff then without interruption on my behalf," Fredrick countered as the group proceeded to the equipment sheds.

"Major, we get it, your technology-crammed ass is better at shooting things than the rest of us. We get it," Ashley mocked in return.

"Would you guys pipe down and help me find some way to get to the other side of that barrier?" Linda said containing the annoyance in her voice.

Fredrick eyed the wall under where the catwalk they had been on previously was and the device in front of him. It was a giant laser drill, Salarian in design, put to rest in a position where the opposite end faced the wall. "Relax, the toys I was given as a child are simply means of achieving an end. With a little improvisation, and decades of accrued skill, you can make a name for yourself. For example," Fredrick argued before reaching forward, activating the laser drill and blowing a hole right into the wall, creating a path into the elevator shaft right behind Liara.

"My father told me you were a bit brash when it came down to a tactical approach, but did you really have to prove him right for once?" Garrus asked. It was pretty clear that no one on the team found Fredrick to be particularly helpful, despite how much headway he'd made into reaching the objective. Honestly, he could care less if the team liked him, because they would be infinitely less experience than he was, they were in no position to talk shit to him.

The team walked through and activated the elevator to raise one level to reach Liara. Liara was initially surprised that the group had made it past to help her. "How… how did you get in here? I didn't see any way past the barrier!"

Linda shrugged as she responded, "We blasted through with the mining laser. Thanks largely in part to the madman in white you see to my right."

"Of course. Yes, that makes sense. Please… get me out of here before more Geth arrive. That button over there should shut down the containment field," Liara said, slightly uncertain as Shepard walked over to the aforementioned control panel.

As Fredrick picked up Liara from the floor, he asked, "You do know your way around this structure, correct? Any idea how to get out from this point?"

Dusting herself off, Liara said gesturing to the chamber that they came from, "There is an elevator in the middle of this shaft, it will get us back to the same level as the entrance. Come on!"

On the way over, Fredrick asked Liara, "When was the last time you had contacted your mother? Or at least heard any news about her?"

"It's been years! I – I cannot believe this. Why would the Geth come after me? Is my mother really involved in this?" Liara asked.

"We've received intelligence that your mother is potentially infected. As for why Saren wants you could be for a multitude of reasons, one alone being you've researched the Protheans and their structures. He believes that you, or your research should you refuse to talk would provide better insight towards its location. Additionally, you've been looking into the existence into those that Saren serves and that silencing you would give them some leeway," Fredrick explained as he handed her a rations bar.

Gently taking the bar, the confused Liara said, "Conduit? I don't even have a faint idea of what that is! And what did you m-"

A faint rumbling shook the structure, alarming everyone. "Forget what I said earlier about Prothean infrastructure. It's well built until you nudge it incorrectly," Fredrick growled.

"The ruins aren't stable. That mining laser must've triggered a seismic event, and now the structure is collapsing," Liara explained, tapping the elevator console.

On the intercom to the _Normandy_ , Shepard ordered, "Joker! Get the _Normandy_ and lock in on my signal ASAP!"

 _Aye, aye, commander. Arriving in ETA eight minutes._

"He'd better be prepared to explain how he left a squad for dead if he fails," Fredrick commented.

As the structure continued to shake around them, the elevator swiftly lifted back to the top level of the shaft, giving the team one last glance of the Prothean construction as it crumbled around them. As they reached the top of the shaft, the gate they had seen earlier had been dropped, allowing a Krogan Warlord and a multitude of Geth light infantry to enter.

"Surrender, or don't. The latter would be more fun though," the warlord growled maliciously. Of all the Krogan voices Fredrick had heard, this had to be the most irritating to date. Not that it sounded any different from other Krogan fundamentally speaking, but the accent sounded way off to the point of being cringe inducing.

"In case you haven't noticed, this structure is coming down on top of us!" Linda pointed out as the shaking readily increased.

"I know. Exhilarating, isn't it? Thank you for saving us the trouble of getting the Asari for us. We'll take her from here."

Fredrick, having reached the limit of maintaining his impulses leveled the mining railgun at the crowd and said, "I know that you aren't in the mood for talking, and neither am I." He fired a single rod, puncturing a Geth sniper before he detonated the charge as it got pinned to the ceiling. Chambering another rod, he began to aim for the warlord, only to miss at each interval due to the unexpected speed and excessive use of biotics to dash around the room. _"I'm pretty confident that Krogan don't nearly run that fast. Not at least until his blood rage kicks in and his vitals don't indicate so."_

Regardless, he did detonate the rods to kill a single shock trooper, leaving him with a single rod remaining. Quickly pulling out his side arm, he began to shoot at the Krogan to chip at the shields and catch its attention. "I'm right here, you worthless Varren! Come and get me!"

Whatever is wrong with this warlord, causing him to enter his blood rage was the key to baiting him. As the Krogan flung a shockwave at him, he used his enhanced legs to leap over with ease and come crashing down on top of the assailant, reducing the last of the shields. Without wasting a second, Fredrick launched the last rod into the Krogan's chest cavity before being thrown back by the warlord's biotics. As he landed on his knee, railgun still in hand and watched the Krogan direct a biotic charge at him, he detonated the last rod just as the others eliminated the remaining Geth.

What followed was a shower of orange liquid before revealing the lower torso that remained, with some spine sticking out the top. When Fredrick got up, he wiped the orange off his visor, revealing how most of the front half of his armor was now coated in bright orange.

Regrouping at the gate, the gate from power loss, allowing the group to make a mad dash back up the mining ramp to the surface. Fredrick rushing furthest ahead made it out to see the Normandy landing nearby.

* * *

 **14 hrs/00 min/50 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **, Knossos System**

"Relax, its just Krogan blood," Fredrick said with a roll of his eyes.

"At least wash it off, you're causing the rest of the crew give you funny looks," Linda said.

"Damn, Shepard. You guys looked like you crawled out of hell, everyone make it out alright?" Wrex asked, watching the group exit the elevator onto the second deck.

"More or less, meet us in five at the briefing room," she responded.

 _"God damn, I don't see what the whole fuss is about being coated in blood,"_ Fredrick thought continuing to drip the orange liquid on the floor wherever he walked. _"These guys didn't expect their jobs to be clean just because thermal shots can cauterize, did they?"_

Several minutes later, the team was sitting in a circle in the briefing room with Linda pacing around the room. _"Too close commander! Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The_ Normandy _isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes, has a nasty tendency to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference,"_ Jeff's sarcastic voice rang over the intercom.

"We almost died down there, and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked with some irritability. Her anger was understandable considering she'd been stuck in the security gate for a while and had only just now gotten access to any of her survival needs.

Linda shrugged with indifference. "Eh, it's a coping mechanism, you'll get used to it."

"I see. Perhaps this sort of behavior is not nearly as common amongst Synth-Humans. I'm grateful to all of you for saving me back there, from the Geth or otherwise."

"Any specific idea as to why Saren wanted to capture you?" Kaidan asked, still eyeing Fredrick's dripping orange armor. "Major Müller did give us a basic rundown of what Saren is most likely up to, but I'm still curious myself as to the full details."

"Well from what little I can infer, it's linked to the Protheans' extinction. For the last fifty years, I've been trying to dig for the answer," Liara explained.

"How old are you exactly?" Shepard asked, arms still crossed.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm only one hundred and six cycles old," Liara answered nervously brushing her hand on the back of her head.

"Shit! Wish I could look that good at your age," Ashley commented.

"Asari live for centuries. Similar to that of Krogan and possibly Terrans," Fredrick explained.

"So, how old are you then?" Tali finally spoke up.

"Hundred and sixty cycles and still going. Mix of Krogan genetics and the nanites we use. Anyways, you were saying, Liara?" Fredrick briefly said.

"The problem I face is because I'm so young by Asari standards, most other Asari researchers dismiss my theories concerning the Protheans. Regardless of how long I've spent in the field, I'm unable to find any evidence. Completely cleaned of any trace," Liara answered.

"Well I have my own theory, and the major can back me up on this one. The Reapers, or Harvesters as the Terrans call them, wiped out the Protheans. The Reapers are a race of gigantic synthetics that clear out civilization after civilization after what we can assume is every fifty thousand years. If you want to know more, you can always ask Müller," Linda said.

Fredrick butted into the conversation to continue Shepard's point. "Additionally, the Harvesters have built the Citadel and Relays to allow them to easily cripple all civilization during the cleaning process. As to why, I can't even answer."

Giving a nod to Shepard, she continued where he left off. "I got my share of knowledge from a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime earlier this year. It burned the image of the Reapers into my brain, but it's scrambled and I can't make much of it."

"Of course, the Protheans designed their beacons to directly interface with an organic's nervous system. Those that are still functional are incredibly rare and expensive," Liara confirmed. "I'm impressed how you were able to make any sense of it. Most don't have the neural capacity to withstand the interfacing process without sustaining heavy brain damage."

"Alright, alright, as fun as this conversation is, this isn't helping us to find the Conduit any faster," Kaidan complained.

"Of course, my apologies. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of how to find the Conduit or Saren," Liara explained.

Fredrick stood up to walk over to Liara as he said, "You were getting close on touching the one thing the Harvesters don't want: exposure. If the Galaxy knows out there, they will prepare to fight. I've been trying to do so for the last several decades and have found no foothold. Now that you're here, we just might have a chance."

"Well, thank you again, everyone. I'm ve- I… I'm feeling a bit light headed," Liara said with a few dry breaths.

"You were stuck down there for some unspecified time, makes sense. I'll wash the blood off my suit and check up on you. See you in the med bay," Fredrick said.

"It's just shock, that's all," Liara tried to exert. "Still, I'd be grateful for any rest."

"See what you can do for her, Müller. The rest of you, dismissed," Linda ordered.

As Fredrick walked out of the briefing room, he felt pity for Linda as she tried to explain his mistake to the council, and having to talk with the council in general.

* * *

(P.S.): Alright, so along with adding dialogue for a Freddy-timeline, I tried to trim down on the awkward exposition and text, especially young-Liara's nerd talk. Did I do it right? Please tell me.


	3. Chapter 3: Life on the Normandy

(A/N): 2017, and off to a fresh (?) start. Just 24 hours in, and I'm still wondering what will go to hell first. Also, I know these are going to be long chapters, but I'm trying my best to cover as many of the side missions and dialogue as possible, and more than I think I will in ME2 and ME3. I personally feel that the impact of the side missions in ME1 have more story impact than most in ME2, and ME3 is more or less a giant clusterfucky rush to do missions, gain assets, and keep bashing your head on the table waiting for a lobby to join in order to maintain Galaxy readiness.

Chapter 3: Life on the Normandy

 _These godforsaken kids have no idea what they signed up for. I understand that the unromantic side of war is hidden for the sake of recruitment and that fighting giant sentient warships was never mentioned in the job description, but war is simply natural selection at its finest. A conflict between two parties concerning different ideals or conflict desires senselessly butt heads for resources and revenge sounds all fine on paper, and there's no shortage of records depicting what people turn into during times like these._

* * *

 **Feb 2, 2183**

 **07 hrs/34 min/15 sec Local Time**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **, orbit over Sharjila, Macedon System, Artemus Tau cluster**

"Morning, Ms. T'soni. I hope you had a good night of sleep," Fredrick asked the young Asari as she walked out of her room connected to the medbay. He'd stayed behind for this mission while Shepard, Tali, Garrus, and Kaidan all went down to the planet below to rescue a diplomat's sister.

"Yes, thank you major. I'm feeling much better thanks to your help last night. I did feel some minor unrest due to my most recent experiences," she said nervously.

"Understandable. It takes quite a while to adjust to events similar to what you just experienced. Even for the older soldiers like me, the horrors we remember are a jolt when we first see them. Even after one hundred and forty cycles after entering my first fight, there's still plenty that will haunt your dreams," Fredrick sympathized. He could even recall the first spikes of fear when he first went up against Shrimps and Thresher Maws.

"Of course. I had a question hanging on my mind since the debriefing after we lifted off of Therum. You mentioned my mother and something about the Reapers, saying they'd done something to her?" Liara prompted cautiously.

Fredrick sighed. Getting any news that one's friend or family member was infected was like getting word they were diagnosed with some terminal illness. "Ah yes, the Harvesters are capable of brainwashing their victims who are exposed directly to them, or the artifacts of their creation. Through a series of radiation waves of varying frequencies, they affect the mind, cause hallucinations, and alter its biology, reducing you to a slave."

Liara turned her eyes away in nervousness when he mentioned artifacts, possibly wondering about her own health. "How so? How does this infection change their brain tissue?"

"Gradually, your neurons start firing more erratically, you develop brain tumors, and the various glands cease to produce anything beneficial and proceed to feed your own mind a new, addictive hormone to inhibit individuality. The rate at which this decay varies, and there are some cases where the victim hasn't been exposed enough and are treatable with nanites," Fredrick explained as he pulled open his omnitool and showed Liara a diagram.

"Have there been cases where this condition is untreatable?" she asked, possibly inquiring if it was at all possible to save her mother.

The question brought back painful memories. "There is a threshold to which the infection will take place before the mind is no longer recoverable. If the nanites are injected into a brain so corrupted, they simply eat away the brain without repairing or replacing the removed tissue, resulting in a worse death than if we simply put them out of their misery to begin with."

"Have you ever had to kill anyone who past this threshold? I mean, it is essentially euthanasia, correct?" she asked again, with clear trembling in her voice.

"There are situations where we put to rest our loved ones, but nothing hurts more egregiously than if they are infected. When we put them down, we know it's for their best interest, they know as well, and don't want to continue suffering. If they are infected, they've lost their individuality, their knowledge of right and wrong, who is friend or foe, or the fact they are in pain, meaning they will fight back. Then again, I could easily say the same for euthanizing someone who is insane, and trapped inside their mind," Fredrick explained keeping a steady face as he looked over some other soldier's biometrics.

"Have you had to euthanize a friend before?" Fortunately, Shepard entered the medbay, still wearing her N7 armor and with a body bag in tow.

"Shepard, just going over some minor details with Ms. T'soni. Mission failed, I presume?" he said, pointing at the body bag being carried by Vakarain and Alenko.

"Wasn't exactly a rescue mission to begin with. I pulled up some logs suggesting that our target wasn't so much a prisoner as she was the ringleader of the gang. Remember Nassana from the Citadel? See if you can find any genetic similarities between this corpse and her before we lug the wrong person back," Linda said as the two behind her lifted the bag onto a medical bed.

Fredrick walked over and unzipped the bag to get a better look at the face. Ignoring the gaping hole in the middle of her forehead, she had the same facial structure, eye color, and skin tone as her sister did, and he could detect no genetic modifiers in the corpse either. "Looks like the ambassador's sister alright. Will be a most interesting conversation when we tell her she told us the wrong story."

"I see. Also, why are you still wearing your armor?" Linda asked. "You do know you're scaring the crew out of the medbay, right?"

Fredrick had been so used to wearing his white and maroon armor that it was practically a second skin for him. "Why not? Wrex and Garrus do so most of the time, and it's military standard. On smaller frigates with weaker defenses than a destroyer, I'm trained to keep my armor on at all times under the circumstances of depressurization. Besides, the armor is designed to be comfortable. Guys like me during long tours are supposed to keep this thing on for months at a time, so ease of use and breathability are kept in mind during the armor's development."

"Doc, the _Normandy_ is not getting shot in half any time soon, you can take the suit off," she said as she left the room.

* * *

 **Feb 3, 2183**

 **14 hrs/05 min/37 sec**

 **Edolus, Sparta System, Artemus Tau Cluster**

After investigating a Prothean Biodome and collecting a data disk, Shepard took him, Wrex, and Tali down to the planet below to investigate a squad of missing marines. After being promoted to a Specter, Linda had talked to an Alliance Rear Admiral who had been denied any details concerning a unit of marines under his command that investigated a distress call. The marines had gone silent and the Rear Admiral Kuhoku asked her to discover the cause of their disappearance.

"I'm aware you have a reputation to maintain, but there's no need to put Tonkah drivers to shame," Wrex said nervously as he sat in back, now understanding the complaints the other teammates held.

"Commander, I can't do my job if you're shaking the monitors uncontrollably!" Tali screeched.

"I've dealt with worse. Tali, if I put in a requisition order for some parts from Khonsu, would it be possible for you to make some upgrades to the vehicle?" Fredrick said from the gunner seat.

"Please, anything would make this miserable piece of scrap metal better than what it is now," Wrex growled with annoyance after bashing his head against the ceiling.

"Stop bitching, guys, the site is just up ahead. We'll get in and get out before you can get to worry about the meteor showers," Linda said as she drove over a hill. The top of the small hill revealed a large opening with other hills and mountains surrounding the area in a circular formation. Down in the flat, smooth middle were a damaged M29 Grizzly, a large number of dead and burned marines, and a single transmitter of a distress signal.

"I don't like this, it's too open," Fredrick growled. "Too much potential for an ambush from snipers or artillery."

"Agreed," Wrex said as he stood up to look over Tali's shoulders at the radar monitors.

"I'm not seeing any hostiles on screen, Shepard. We should be clear to proceed," Tali claimed with a hint of suspicion.

Gradually, the Mako approached the pile of corpses and damaged vehicle. "And why hasn't the Alliance collected the corpses by now?" Fredrick asked.

"Too risky," Linda claimed. "The next patrol did a quick flyby and evaluated that it would be a waste of resources to send in a bunch of grunts only to have them ambushed again."

That wasn't good. Humans of all biology have made it very habitual to collect the dead after battles, even if it was a defeat. This seemed reminiscent of some other case he heard of temporarily before completely forgetting it. He couldn't put his finger o-

The ground shook, and the familiar screech of a Thresher Maw filled the air. Right in front of where the Mako drew to a halt was the giant monster itself, having sprouted from the ground like a weed in a garden. "Of course it's a Thresher Maw. Wrex, you take the cannon, I'm heading out. I need some fresh air."

"Wait, Fredrick! Where the hell are you going?" Linda screeched as she hysterically drove the Mako to avoid the blobs of acidic spittle.

"I hope you have a good plan, going up against it alone," Wrex said, balancing himself as he stumbled over towards the gunner seat.

As Linda and Wrex slipped on their helmets, Fredrick punched the "deploy" button once more. "Don't worry, it'll be a walk in the park," he said as he rolled onto his feet behind the vehicle. He drew out his rifle and began landing a few beams into the armor plating on the side of the worm's face. As predicted, the beast turned its attention towards him and slid back into the ground. After rolling to the side to avoid the Thresher Maw's surfacing attack, it roared at him before launching a single ball of acidic spittle. As per usual, Fredrick caught the ball with his biotics before spinning around and launching the projectile right back at the Thresher Maw's head. As it writhed in pain, Wrex shot a single shell through the head, killing the beast instantly.

As the others met him at the transmitter and exited the tank, Fredrick playfully boasted, "See? They're just animals, they're not invincible."

"That's a tactic I haven't seen in a while, Fredrick. Who taught you that?" Wrex asked while Linda and Tali looked at the transmitter.

"Taught myself. I used it on my first mission to some mining camp. Two came up, I and two others took it down, simple enough," Fredrick smugly answered with a shit-eating grin.

"Just remember, I killed it, I get boasting rights," Wrex assured as the two followed the others to the transmitter.

"We'll compare notes when you manage to outdo killing three Thresher Maws on foot and alone. Karlos may be out of reach still, but that hunt is for another day," Fredrick boasted.

Wrex, taken aback asked, "You mentioned you had Krogan genetics?"

"Twenty percent, it provides for the stronger immune system, some of the more robust bodily structure, some of the enhanced senses, and the pain resilience. I would've been twenty-five percent if I opted for the addition of dermal armor," Fredrick answered to his best knowledge.

"Hmph, I could've sworn you were half-Krogan, half-Human. Would've made more sense. What's the issue Shepard?" Wrex asked Linda as they came up behind the two women.

"Looking at the distress signal, Tali is checking who may have placed this here. These marines were lured right into a Thresher Maw nest," Linda said.

"Lured to Thresher Maws? Strange, I remember hearing of such a case not too long after the Skyllian Bliz, when fifty marines were all cut down by the critters when investigating a mining camp on Akuze. The case was suspicious, but the Alliance hadn't done much to follow up on the cause," Fredrick wondered.

"You think the same group did this?" Linda asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

* * *

 **Feb 10, 2183**

 **10 hrs/53 min/19 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **medbay, Antaeus System, Hades Gamma**

 _"God, those poor bastards,"_ Fredrick thought to himself. _"Every last one infected and turned into Husks. They deserved better."_ They'd just left Trebin and refueled after killing another Thresher Maw and finding a lost excavation team, stuck with a Harvester artifact.

His thoughts were interrupted when Linda came up to him as a part of her routine crew checkups. "Just checking in. How are you holding up?" she asked.

"I'm doing well. Crew is starting to get used to having me around, and I have everything I need to make sure the crew is alive and well," he said satisfied.

"Good. Now that we are into the swing of having to deal with the Reapers and their toys, how does the infection process work?" Linda continued.

"Simple enough, I already told Liara and she had no problem understanding. The Harvesters through most of their assets and their own physical forms emit certain levels constantly adjusting frequencies that disrupt brain activity. The first and lasting symptoms of the infection process are severe hallucinations, allowing for the Harvesters to better manipulate their victims. Over time, the nervous system is greatly degraded over time, though complete infection times do vary. Gradually, the neurons fire at irregular intervals, the glands begin to only produce hormones that cause subservience to their bidding, and the brain grows various malignant tumors. While the brain is treatable in some cases, there is a threshold an organic mind can withstand before it simply is no longer recoverable, meaning they are nothing but target practice from then till the end of their existence," Fredrick explained.

"You mentioned having trained Saren multiple times now. Could you better explain how you made him what he was?" Linda asked. "I understand if this a sensitive topic to you."

"No need to feel pity, Linda. It's my mistake and it's rightfully my job to clean him up," he said regretfully. "The year was 2155, the council wanted to reestablish connections to us, and it was right before the First Contact War. I remember the first time I met him at the firing range, as young as he was. He and his twin brother were orphaned pretty early on, and had a tough upbringing. It was strange seeing how he didn't let that break him unlike how his brother did. However, he inherited my behavior as well as my tactics and skills."

* * *

 **March 21, 2155**

 **18 hrs/43 min/43 sec**

 **Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula**

 _"Even if I had put him through some rather intensive missions for the first few weeks, he still held tight to his morals. I sought to teach him drop them for the sake of his job as soon as possible if he was going to learn. I mostly brought him out into the Terminus Systems for training. Plenty of scum, deserving of every fate they suffer. I remember this one time I took him out for a job in the midst of Asari politics. Her name was Eshi Makera."_

 _"Why the Asari? Weren't the councilors trying to be friendly with the Terran Republic?"_

 _"Councilor Tevos doesn't represent the entirety of the Asari Republics. Besides, most of the Asari are straight-up affraid of Terrans because we threaten their position as the most 'advanced' race. We could get away with it because we argued our technology wasn't Prothean, but Eshi and a few others wanted to level out the playing field. Along with various other shady promises, she wanted to enforce the need for us to share our tech. Let's just say I've done plenty of things that I'm proud of."_

This was simply ridiculous. He and Saren were now wearing Terran-made external camo-suits that clung onto their armor like poorly made ghillie suits, the same sort Mary wore. Right now, they were snooping around the upper levels of the public areas in their cloaked forms and progressing towards a nice open view of a marketplace. For this mission, the two of them had brought Blood Pack manufactured weapons to draw suspicion away from their respective factions.

They were taking rather big risks snooping in public areas, but all other paths leading to a small dining room took too long, and they could miss their window. Even if the planet was deep into the Terminus, Illium was still a vital part to the Asari Republics, and Illium had repeatedly proven to be a critical swing-state. In the market, the target would be promoting her run for some election which most likely wouldn't matter should the assassination occur without a hitch.

As Fredrick and Saren walked up a small stairway, the two made it into the small party room. The room had been rented out the night prior and the cleanup crews had stopped for the night without bothering to close the room. Shutting the door behind them, Saren walked over the balcony and opened up a weapon case. Inside was a crimson sniper rifle with the white emblem of the Blood Pack on the side. Fredrick followed up behind with a pair of binoculars and glanced down at the market and began to talk with Saren. "Alright, we're still ahead of time. Get that rifle set up, Saren."

Saren took the rifle out, adjusted the scope and bipod before stopping halfway through. "Fredrick, I don't understand what we're trying to achieve out here," Saren inquired.

"The lesson is simple. We hunt a given target, kill him or her, and escape with no clues or clues that suggest some other party beyond our own," Fredrick said, pulling his vision up from the binoculars in his hands.

"Understood, but why is Makera so important? As far as I can tell, killing her will be of no service to anyone," Saren reiterated, doubt dangling from his voice like water from a faucet.

"Think of it this way. If she is going to get elected to her given position, and her increasing popularity says that's the more likely outcome, she will be enacting plenty of legislation that will cause harm to plenty and enrage even more across multiple parties. Looking between the spaces of her words, you'll realize her actions do more harm than good for those under her position and her 'allies.' By the time anyone can properly impeach her, the damage will have been done. Should we kill her or fail, the blame will not immediately fall on your shoulders. She's made plenty of enemies during this race and using mercenary weapons will only muddy the waters. Have I made matters more clear?" Fredrick asked.

"So what you're saying is that for the few reasons we're killing her, we can always use a scapegoat to slip away?" Saren asked, resuming setting up the sniper rifle.

"Yes, same goes with plenty of other missions you'll have in the future." The two waited for another forty-five minutes when the politician showed up.

"Just remember what we've gone over in practice. Remember our direction, and use your HUD to take note of the wind direction, and don't take the shot till you are ready. She'll be here for an hour, so we have plenty of time." Fredrick watched as the dreaded woman took her step onto the stage, waving to her audience. As the sun rapidly set, the two became enveloped by the shadows, leaving them concealed.

Ten silent minutes passed between the two white-armored males until Saren finally took the shot. The muzzle flash briefly lit up the shadows around them and Fredrick watched as the Asari politician went down, clutching her throat before expiring on stage.

"Impressive shot, Saren! Let's get going before some one sees us." The two exited the room only leaving behind the crimson rifle, its barrel still smoking from the discharge.

* * *

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **medbay**

"It was the cumulative effect of adventures like that which I ground him into the bastard he is. Or, if you're still confused, we're fighting another me, except he's Turian, infected, and much younger," Fredrick said, ending his story.

"I can tell that there's going to be no saving that rat, regardless of how you feel, and that you're keeping your eye on the big picture so much that you're willing to tread on the finer details to reach the end of stopping the Reapers, but which is it? Saying 'sorry' for raising Saren, because you think your knowledge will prove helpful, or just here to stop the Reapers?" Linda asked.

"There's nothing wrong with it being all three, right? Anyways, it's been fun talking, but I'd really have to get back to work, Shepard," Fredrick said.

"Talk to you later, doc," Linda said as she turned towards the door.


	4. Chapter 4: Unstoppable

(A/N): EA, I swear to god, get this right for us. I know you're capable of producing good material, and I'm willing to ignore the inevitable microtransactions since I usually just blaze through the singleplayer in games like these. In the mean time, I very much like what I see (I tap dat scaly ass of Vetra's). At least it's good to know the definite release date for the game, even if I can't help but get the lingering feeling of a half-baked game, but at the same time I can't help but expect Battlefield 1 quality from these guys.

Chapter 4: Unstoppable

 _Fortunately, Nazara is taking his sweet time finding the Conduit while Shepard and the rest of us go treasure hunting and pirate stomping. Considering how long we took on such outrageous activities like these, I'm surprised the Harvesters didn't come rolling in right under our noses. While I do feel guilty that I wasted such precious time following around these not half-bad kids around on these adventures, I can't help but ponder the Harvesters' actual competence if they can't beat us to the punch in a timely manner._

* * *

 **Feb 15, 2183**

 **13 hrs/38 min/26 sec**

 **Agebinium, Amazon System, Voyager Cluster**

"There is no way a probe managed to dig its way a kilometer underground," Fredrick said as Tali and Garrus got out of the Mako.

"Keelah, commander. How you managed to turn a smooth path here into a motion sickness-inducing nightmare is beyond me," Tali said, almost keeling over and puking in her helmet.

"Maybe you _should_ take Müller's advice and have him order those replacement parts," Garrus said shortly after. "Anyways, this isn't suspicious at all," he added sarcastically.

"Looks like scavengers got to it. Perhaps they don't mind if ask for it back,"

"Vehicle is fine as is, guys. Besides, this doesn't change anything. We still got a nuke down there. Check your corners and watch your back," Shepard ordered as she opened the door. The group followed her in, watching the door close behind them. Instinctively, Fredrick drew his rifle out and glanced around, looking through the walls for hostiles. As they entered the main body of the entrance, the layout of the chamber was strewn with boulders, crates, and lights. He glanced around, sharply looking, yet found no sign of hostiles.

"Spirits, its empty. There's no one here," Garrus said, eyeing Fredrick with exasperation.

Fredrick gave an annoyed look back saying, " _That's_ what scares me. Is the _Normandy_ equipped with drones to use to defuse this thing instead?"

The group came to the back of the main area, where the door to the left was locked and the door downward was waiting to be opened. "I'm with Fredrick on this one. The fact we're being lured down to the deepest part is off. Signal says the probe is just down there." The four entered the door on the left and approached the probe they saw on the floor.

The mine shook as explosive charges went off behind them. "Uggh, fuuuuuuuuuuuck. What a rookie-error," Fredrick said, disappointed in his own capabilities.

A projection of a Human pirate showed up before them saying, _"Shepard! At last!"_

"You have me at a disadvantage," Linda said as she crossed her arms.

 _"You don't remember me? Ahahahaha!"_ the pirate continued to taunt. Boy, Fredrick was going to enjoy killing him. _"No matter, I remember you. I never forget anyone I fought. My name is Elanos Heliat. I doubt you know it."_ Right, he's that one. There were so many adversaries that Fredrick had encountered that he barely understood how he kept tabs on all their names. _"Who do you think runs the Terminus? Huh, Shepard? Thousands of pirates, slavers, criminals of every stripe?"_

Linda was clearly as annoyed as he was. "You assume I give a damn, that's cute."

 _"The one who leads, the one who seizes the most ships, pillages the most colonies. Three years ago, I was the strongest."_ At this point, Fredrick lost interest, walked over to the probe and knelt by it. Ignoring the tennis game of diatribes and boasting behind it, he felt the surface of the metallic body before him for maintenance panels. Retrieving his particle knife, he started to pry the thing apart, taking panel after panel off, looking for a specific piece. Eventually, he found a programming interface after prying off the sixth panel before reaching out and connecting.

Haliat's words faded away as he entered the missile. _"Hehehe, I'd li…"_

* * *

 _It'd been so long since his mind had interfaced, but he knew it was for his own benefit. Doing so still put physical strain on his body and he didn't want to risk whatever potential risks he'd face if he really could put himself into a coma, meaning he had to act fast. He felt his tendrils reach out around him, feeling the pitch-blackness like he was blind, searching the system for any way to shut the nuclear bomb off._

 _Telecommunication. Well, if Haliat would to remotely detonate this thing, he'd do so remotely when they walked down here in the first place. Shutting this off would be beneficial._

 _Location module. Not useful, moving on._

 _Sensors. It's probably what Haliat used to see them coming in. Again, not useful._

 _Trigger. Used under the circumstances a set of parameters is met, causing the nuclear detonation in the first place. Problem solved, system sabotaged. Mission accomplished, exiting system._

* * *

 **13 hrs/38 min/26 sec**

One again feeling the familiar sense of untreatable, crippling pain, Fredrick fell backward from his kneeling position onto the floor, narrowly catching himself just as Haliat ended his call with Linda. The others came rushing to his aid as they heard him grunting in pain. He couldn't hear the words come out of their mouths and his vision glittered like poor connection to an old television.

As he slowly rose to his feet, Linda's words finally came through. "Can you hear me?" she spelled out slowly. "What the actual fuck happened?" she asked again.

"Fried the nuke, Shepard. We're good to go," he reported.

"Okay, the fact we're not going to die is good. But even if you're an ass, you're still part of this team, and I can't make sure if everyone is still alive if I don't even know what happened to you," Linda growled.

Finally recovering, Fredrick answered, "My body got ahold of some Harvester software at some point, a virus or something of the likes. It allows me to mentally interface with UIs and such, but it puts heavy strain on my nervous system from remaining completely inactive for the brief duration that I am in a system, resulting in a system reboot. Think of it like when your parents tell you not to play with the light switches."

"Well thanks for scaring us you bosh'tet! Any idea how we get out of here?" Tali asked as the group walked back up the tunnel to see the main body of the mine blocked off by rubble, before turning their gaze to the other door, now unlocked.

"So, who was Haliat anyways?" Fredrick asked as the group walked through and found an elevator.

"He orchestrated the Skyllian Blitz, the pirate offensive Shepard held off against," Garrus answered.

"Really?" Fredrick asked with disbelief. "For the man who thought of that attack, he doesn't come across as being very smart." The fight shortly afterwards was barely noticeable as well.

* * *

 **Feb 16, 2183**

 **07 hrs/24 min/37 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy,**_ **en route to the Gemini Sigma**

While it was mostly Shepard who walked around the ship seeing to the needs of the crew, he would still maintain the habit of doing similarly. He still needed to have a strong grasp of the team's mental health both on and off of the ship. For now, Liara was alone and Kaidan was of the whole team the one individual he least knew anything about. Everyone else he was currently working with had either met him before, or someone they knew personally had met him and subsequently had indirect experience.

Fredrick and Wrex were currently talking about Wrex's last job and first encounter with Saren. "Like I said, I wouldn't have known who he was until you Shepard brought him up. I must say you trained him well, a week later I saw the C-Sec report that every mercenary besides me had died on that ship, all with direct headshots and plasma burns."

"I don't know whether to feel proud or ashamed of him right now, my friend. What gave away his actual intentions?" Fredrick acknowledged.

"At some point, an Asari matriarch came onboard, wearing all black. The two had talked something about a Prothean artifact before walking deeper into the ship. Curious as I was, I followed them into the storage area, but kept out of sight, used only my hearing to listen in on his conversation with his superior. It sounded like the two were talking over the intercom, but looking over security footage later, I found out they were just standing there, looking into the now empty storage unit. We were parked on the edge of the Attican at the time, so I got off that tub and made for the next system in less than five hours," Wrex described.

"Shit, I keep looking out for him, but hope is a hard thing to come by these days. Anyways, I've got a few others to check on. Take care, Wrex," Fredrick said, walking over to Ashley.

"How far back do you two go?" Williams asked as he walked up to her.

"One hundred and fifteen cycles, why?" Fredrick asked in return.

"Nothing. I just find it strange you trust these guys," Ashley said. Fredrick was really annoyed with Ashley's incessant complaints about the "alien" teammates. He was aware that others onboard did also have their prejudices against aliens, such as Pressley, but no one was nearly as vocal as Ashley about it. He wanted to inquire if maybe it had to do with her family legacy, but he decided to hold that off.

As he walked over to Garrus and the Mako, he noticed that the Turian was already engaged with Linda in conversation. Linda had been coming down to talk with Garrus during travel between systems with the greatest frequency and the most times compared to that of the other crew members. The two shared their stories, concerns, future hopes, and were generally friendly with each other. He thought back to how Liara and Kaidan would occasionally give each other a hostile glance when Linda was nearby. The two biotics were competing for their commander's emotions when both had already lost to a Turian who wasn't even remotely aware of the barely-existing love triangle. Additionally, he found it strange how the post-war conflict between their respective races hadn't interrupted this connection. He was almost entertained as he watched their hormones fire.

After Linda wrapped up her conversation, she walked over to him to talk. "Hey Müller, how's the state of the crew?"

"All good so far. Everyone occasionally butts heads, but that's to be expected. Things are a bit rough out here, any idea when we'll get ahold of better armor? Because picking pieces off of dead mercenaries won't work forever," Fredrick answered.

"We'll be heading back to the Citadel and buy some new equipment then during shore leave. After that, we'll be heading out to the Earth's Moon to deal with a malfunctioning AI, go to Feros, and perhaps investigate the Armstrong Nebula. Maybe they market will have something half decent once we get back," Linda said as she crossed her arms. "Hopefully, you don't mind if I ask some personal questions?"

Fredrick put down his datapad and said, "Sure, ahead." She probably didn't want to know anything too secret.

"So, why 'the Wolf' of all nicknames? Couldn't have gone with anything more subtle?" Linda said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, just a codename when I was still getting started. All the other races only had a faint idea of Earth ecology at the time and it just stuck as some term that was most related to the term, 'ruthless.' It wasn't really my decision," he answered, expecting something more complex.

"Well, I also heard you were genetically copied off one of the colonists on Khonsu. What lead to that?" Linda asked further. No doubt she hadn't invested too much time considering Khonsu history before bringing him aboard.

Shifting his stance, he answered, "In 2023, the miners had dug up several artifacts from some race older than the Protheans. The details are still sketchy, but interacting with the pillars that were found caused some energy pulse that closed the wormhole connecting the Sol System to the Ra System. After the wormhole close, everyone was panicking. Our stream of resources had been cut off, and while we had the means of terraforming, we would all run out of air before the process finished. The colonist managers presented the idea of using the tech we dug up to give workers respiratory implants to continue working in the harsh environment without having to use extra oxygen cells. Naturally, some of the workers felt violated and riots ensued, along with people beating each other to death. In the wake of the riots, the higher ups of Delta Station used cloning to artificially inject additional workers into the field without using forced births or some similar changes that would've only resulted in more clashing from the others. I was made using a genetically wiped egg cell, a splice of Dr. Andrew Müller's DNA, and nanites we found within the artifacts."

Still recovering from the bundle of information from the question, Shepard asked, "I noticed you use the nanites as both your equipment and that shield you pull up occasionally in combat, how do those work?"

Fredrick allowed his left forearm to become coated in the tiny machines to display them, saying, "We found these in the previously mentioned artifacts. They easily integrate with organic tissue, and allowed us to achieve leaps and bounds in nanotechnology, biology, as well as other fields. They allow us to construct and repair on the molecular level, alter DNA and repair cells, and allow us to further alter our synthetic parts and capabilities. The nanites also serve as an additional layer to my immune system, and I can share them to repair damaged tissue in others."

"I can't help but wonder what it's like on Khonsu. I heard the Terrans have done pretty well for themselves, especially considering life on Earth."

"We've done our best to minimize inequality on Khonsu, figuring that this would be our home for the long run. I wouldn't know the finer details about the politics; I'm just a soldier and a doctor, and I don't feel like listening to all the talking. Seeing that this would be the only life-supporting planet for possibly light years, we established laws early on ensuring a balance between industrial infrastructure and the now widespread ecosystem we managed to bring along before we were cut off from Earth. With confirmed knowledge about the Harvesters, we've begun enforcing mandatory service after high school, just to have some level of preparedness."

"Sounds nice. Not to sound naïve or anything, but I don't understand the negative vibe around Augs in general. I could maybe understand between Augs and Normal Humans, but is there something I missed that made the connection for other races," Linda prompted.

"Actually, that's a mix of themes that caused this association. For starters, the Geth have established Synthetic life as being bad in general. Then, there was the aftermath of our First Contact War with the Batarians, and the general outcome. After two weeks in, we found their homeworld and we showed no mercy when that day came. Finally, because our technology isn't Prothean-based, the rate at which our technology improved was leaps and bounds compared to everyone else, and everyone got an idea by how far when the Earth finally joined. Over a millennium ago Humans had believed the Earth was the center of the universe while Turians and Asari had long been space-faring races. When we finally became exposed to what this galaxy had to offer, we had accomplished more in the time span of two decades than everyone else had combined. Naturally, that's bound to wet a few pants."

"Shit, I hadn't realized the roots went that deep. I gotta go, the brass wants me to collect a data module from a downed satellite pretty soon, so I'll be taking a team out soon," Linda said, eyes wide with intrigue.

"Have a nice day, Shepard," he saluted. The made his way over to Garrus' station before prompting, "Good to see the two of you are friends, Garrus. I didn't think it would be possible in a post-314 Relay world."

Garrus gave him a rather surprised look before saying, "Erm, thanks. It's strange to hear someone use First Contact and 314 Relay interchangeably."

Fredrick nodded with understanding before responding, "I do have the downside of being on both sides of this conflict, and that I understand both sides of the argument. Given how nobody seems to be able to see past this, I can't help but admire the friendship you carry with the commander."

"Oh! Well, Linda told me we'll have to work together if we are going to stop Saren and the Reapers. With the exception of maybe Batarians, she doesn't seem to hold any racial grudges and… well, we're just friends," Garrus stuttered, as he scratched the back of his neck.

 _"Linda. He called her Linda, not Shepard,"_ Fredrick thought, taking note of the interaction. "I see. Take care, Garrus."

* * *

 **Feb 18, 2183**

 **15 hrs/43 min/56 sec**

 **Zakera Wards, Citadel Station**

Fredrick looked over his newly decorated pistol. He found a shop on the Citadel that provided paint jobs for weapons and he instantly took up on the opportunity. While his pistol didn't see nearly as much action as his rifle, he still thought it would look better with a white and red camo pattern, mimicking his armor pattern. Additionally, he added a laser sight attachment on the underside of the barrel for occasional use. "Yes, it's a very well done job. How much will this be total?"

The man at the counter pulled out his omnitool and calculated the total. "The complete service will be three hundred credits. The management kit will be an additional one hundred and fifty credits if you want it."

Tapping his omnitool, Fredrick simply paid up front before saying, "The simple service will do. This is a weapon, not a toy, so some wear and tear isn't bad." It was now shore leave. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, shopping, or running some errands like Linda was. He thought of going down to Chora's Den and getting himself something to drink. While taking care of a bunch of kids was somewhat stressful, he was getting used to having to patch people constantly on a daily basis. Regardless, it was satisfying to have the promise of some actual progress in revealing the Harvesters.

He passed by the corridor he'd met the others in, remembering the absolute the mess from the few weeks prior. Eventually, he came to the entrance of the bar, still intact with its neon sign after Shepard had supposedly torn the place up to find Tali. As he entered, he saw Linda, Garrus, Kaidan, and some other unidentified Turian facing a single Human. From where he stood, he could hear the threats the man was making, but didn't understand due to the lack of context. Walking up behind, he asked, "What the hell is going on here?"

The man turned around getting a good long look at Fredrick. "Well well well, Shepard! You've got an attack dog! What's he gonna do? Hump my leg?" the puny man mocked.

"You're treading on thin ice, kid. Why don't you tell me why you are here before you move along?" Fredrick threatened. To be honest, he was itching to use his newly painted pistol.

"Name's Finch, Aug. I used to run with Shepard in the 10th Street Reds. I was just asking her for a favor for some help for a friend of mine," the puny man said, jabbing a finger in Fredrick's direction.

"You're confusing 'blackmailing' with 'negotiating,' Finch. Back off, that man isn't worth your trouble," Linda said menacingly.

"Oho! Using threats for authority? That's sweet, but I have a better proposition. You shut the hell up and get out of my sight, or in twenty seconds, you're getting a beam of accelerated particles right between those pretty eyes of yours," Fredrick threatened.

"Wait, what?" Linda said with shock.

"Oh, the big tin man thinks he's scary! Think again, Aug!" Finch taunted. Holy hell, this man is stupid.

 _Fifteen seconds._

"You think you can bully the little Human, huh? I've seen the vids of the riots! I've seen what you bastards are like!" Finch ranted. Fredrick continued to stand statically, making no movement towards his side arm, feigning the impression he wasn't going to devote to his word.

 _Ten seconds._

"Finch, do you even have any idea who the hell this guy is?" Linda butted in.

"Shut it, Shepard! This tin can doesn't know what he's messing with!" Finch cut her off.

 _Five seconds._

"Yeah! Try to shoot me! The Tenth Street Reds will-!"

Like a western gunslinger and much faster than humanly possible, his hand snapped to his newly decorated pistol, aimed within the blink of an eye, and shot dead center of Finch's forehead, sending the criminal falling onto his back like a ragdoll. "Fucking you asshole," Fredrick laughed. After Finch fell onto the floor motionless, all the patrons of the bar stopped all activity and stared at the white and maroon madman.

Linda, Garrus, and Kaidan were all bewildered at Fredrick's blatant disregard of Finch's life, proper criminal treatment, and subtlety. Linda, being the first to recover from the shock, swiftly walked forward, and yanked on Fredrick's arm, leading the Aug out of the bar muttering, "I'd like to have a word with you, Müller," like she was an angry mother preparing to talk down a disobedient child.

As the four reached the outside of the bar, Fredrick turned to Linda saying, "Okay, Shepard. No need to act so-."

His response was cut short when Linda angrily, but futilely slugged Fredrick across the head with a balled fist. While she still wore her armor, her hand still hurt from the combined resistance of Fredrick's hardened body structure, his medium Terran armor, and heavy barriers. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Was I supposed to act otherwise?" he asked calmly.

"You didn't have to shoot him!" Shepard exclaimed, still gritting her teeth with pain. "You do realize not every encounter has to end up with someone dead, right?"

"Says what law or fundamental rule? He was a criminal and was deserving of nothing short of what he got." Fredrick genuinely lacked any doubt that his course of action was the right one.

"What the commander is only trying to say is that you just can't just go around killing people!" Kaidan said in her defense.

"Because?" Fredrick asked back, shifting his stance and crossing his arms.

"Look, I appreciate you getting rid of that problem, it's just I need you to learn when not to kill people without second though. Just because people see you as a killing machine doesn't mean you have to act like one," Linda fumed, bodychecking Fredrick as she walked by him.

Wrex walked up to the group as they began to leave the bar, watching as Linda angrily lead the pack. "What happened?"

Garrus said, "Someone from Linda's past tried to blackmail her, and Fredrick simply gunned him down. Don't tell her I said this, but I would've shot him."

Wrex had known Fredrick the longest out of all the _Normandy_ crew, so he simply shrugged before saying, "Makes sense. Out of all likeliness, the little Pyjack deserved it."


	5. Chapter 5: Friends, Geth, and Creepers

(A/N): With the exceptions of X57, the missions revolving around Cerberus, and some touches to a few others, I'll be blazing through most of the side missions in ME1 for the sake of pacing. At most, I'll mention them and maybe throw in some indirect references, but I don't want this chapter to drag out too long considering I've somehow managed to establish what looks like a 50,000 word average per "chapter." Since this chapter does heavily consist of actual in-game dialogue and events, I'm going to state once more I don't own Mass Effect and that any characters or components I didn't write are property of Bioware and EA.

Chapter 5: Friends, Geth, and Creepers

 _Regardless of the fame she's managed to accrue, I can't help but feel sorry for Linda. While she isn't doing anything I haven't done thousands of times before, being a glorified errand-boy, or errand-girl in this case, isn't anything to be proud of. If she does help to stop the Harvesters at the end of this mess while running various jobs simultaneously, I'd throw an absolute fit if she didn't get some sort of reward._

* * *

 **Feb 26, 2183**

 **14 hrs/11 min/53 sec Local Time**

 **Luna, Sol System, "Local" Cluster**

"We're almost done here. Watch your flank, Tali," Fredrick said as he and Tali advanced through one of the malfunctioning training rooms. A training VI on the Earth's moon had broken down and started killing personnel, and Shepard had been sent in to dismantle it without expending more grunts. To prevent the damaged VI from understanding their tactics too quickly, the team had split up into three groups to take on all three VI nodes simultaneously. Linda went with Garrus and Liara down another node while Wrex, Ashley, and Kaidan went down the last training room.

After a hacked training mech had helped eliminate all other mechs in their room, Tali finished it off with a carnage shot. "Area secure. Could you patch me up before we proceed?" Tali had taken a few potshots from the bots as they entered, but wasn't too terribly damaged.

Fredrick contacted Linda as he worked his nanites through Tali's suit. "Shepard, we're almost done with our sector. What's your status?"

 _We're holding, but Liara is still too inexperienced. Perhaps you could go over some combat tips with her if she makes it back to the_ Normandy _?_ she responded, throwing a shockwave in the background.

 _We're taking heavy fire and Alenko is down. Ashley is an excellent fighter, but I wish you'd provide me a better biotic!_ Wrex complained over the coms.

"I'll come over to assist once I'm done here, Wrex. Out." He and Tali rose to their feet and entered the back rooms where the VI modules were held. The two went around the room gunning down the modules, severely damaging the VI. "We've shut down the modules here. Tali and I will be moving to reinforce Wrex, Ashley, and Kaidan," Fredrick informed over the coms once more.

"I think 'shut down' is a bit of a stretch," Tali responded.

 _"Warning, unidentified hostiles detected, deploying airborne toxin,"_ the VI's ominously female voice declared over the facility intercom.

"Lock your suit, Tali." Not two seconds after he gave the order, a noxious green-brown gas came pouring out of the vents. The gas was all too familiar. "Wrex, tell me that isn't what I think it is," he asked.

 _That's Omega-06 alright. You two have your helmets locked?_ Wrex confirmed.

 _Uuuum, Omega-06?_ Garrus asked.

"Toxic gas manufactured and used by the Krogan during the Rachni Wars. Causes blood vessels to dissolve, causing heavy internal bleeding and bleeding through all of your orifices. With the exception of the materials required to manufacture it, it's illegal in all of Citadel Space, which raises the question of what the ever-living fuck is the Alliance doing with illegal chemical weapons?" Fredrick informed.

 _I'll get on the horn with Alliance HQ concerning the matter after the mission. For now, get over to Wrex's group,_ Linda ordered.

* * *

 **March 01, 2183**

 **15 hrs/46 min/20 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_

"Alright, this should make life better. Good job with those parts, I'm surprised you two could work with them," Fredrick complemented as Tali and Garrus finished making modifications to the Mako. Fredrick had put in a requisition order for spare vehicle parts from Terran space, which they had retrieved on their latest visit to the Citadel. With some downtime, the three got together and replaced the upgraded the poorly designed Alliance machinery with more adaptable Terran components.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Tali said.

"So, is it possible you could order us some Terran weapons?" Garrus asked with interest.

"I could, but you'd have problems holding them if you don't have an exoskeleton on. Even then, I'd doubt you'd be able to carry around the mobile generators. Sure, Saren had no problem with a machine pistol, but he's an exceptional case. I would've ordered one for the Mako, but that'd make it too top-heavy," Fredrick explained.

Ashley approached Fredrick from behind and caught his attention, saying, "Excuse me major, could I have a personal word with you?"

Turning away from Tali and Garrus, he asked, "What seems to be the problem, Williams?"

"Look, I never got to thank you and Wrex for the assist back on the Moon. Things were looking rough, Kaidan had his ass shot up, and seeing you and Tali was just a sight for sore eyes. Additionally, it was great to have Wrex watching my back. Basically, I'd like to say thanks," Ashley said nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"Hey, no worries. I can understand where you were coming from having issues trusting the non-Human crew," Fredrick responded, with a friendly, sympathetic tone.

"What exactly do you mean?" Ashley asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

Fredrick gave a huff of air before continuing, "I know I shouldn't bring this up, but I can see how your family name may affect your attitude."

Ashley stuttered with wide eyes for a moment. "Look, I'm not-"

"Wait, I mean to say that General Williams' disgrace would've indirectly alienated you to both other species considering First Contact was Humanity's initial impression of the Galaxy, and how it would alienate you to your colleagues in the Alliance. Don't get me wrong, neither you nor your grandfather deserve the flak from the events of ShanXi," Fredrick explained further.

"Really?" Ashley asked again, completely startled by Fredrick's opinion.

"I was down there that day, and I saw just how the Alliance gave the general way more than he could possibly chew. Limited resources, understaffed manpower, and up against an enemy that is infinitely more prepared for the battlefield he's in, he'd been given a recipe for disaster, and his only chance at preserving any personnel on that rock was to surrender, and I doubt fighting to the last man would've resulted in a better end." Fredrick remembered the day he went down to ShanXi to investigate the source of the Alliance distress signal, meeting with Anderson and Williams, and looking over the body count after the terms of ceasefire had been temporarily negotiated.

"Wow, I- I don't know what to say. It's just- well, thanks. It's feels good to know that someone out here doesn't look down on me for the luggage I'm carrying," Ashley said with a smile.

"If we get this done right and we stop the Harvesters, we'll change that."

"Yeah. You're not too bad yourself either."

"Hah, you haven't seen the worst of me yet."

* * *

 **March 03, 2183**

 **09 hrs/56 min/31 sec**

 **Feros, Theseus System, Attican Beta**

"Logged: the Commanding Officer is ashore. XO Pressley has the deck," the VI said. Fredrick had been gradually working towards earning the trust of his new teammates. While Kaidan and Garrus were still getting used to his brash tactics, and Liara was still an unknown to him, it was comforting to know he'd earned the trust of Tali and Ashley.

After a brief mission to the Hercules System, the team landed at a small colony on Feros, currently under siege from Geth forces. Surprisingly, the colony was still holding up despite how the sky was currently filled with nothing but gunfire. Linda was bringing Ashley, Tali, and him down to the planet below to assist. As the four of them stepped out of the decontamination chamber and down the docking bay, a single colonist greeted them.

The man spoke up before any of the team could ask who he was. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately."

Something was wrong with him. Just how the guy held a monotone voice and a blank face left everyone incredibly uneasy. Shepard took lead and asked, "Okay, who's Fai Dan?"

"He's our leader," the nameless colonist blankly answered. "He needs your help to prepare for the Geth. They're making another push. Please. Up the stairs past the freighter."

"Alright, we'll be on our wa- Look out!" Linda exclaimed, too late to save the colonist before he was disintegrated by a Geth shock trooper's carnage blast.

Initiating his nanite shield and charging in, Fredrick took point against the attacking Geth. Watching as the sniper bolts bounced off his shield, he continued to charge while the other three took cover behind him. Dropping his shield after the initial ambush, the group entered a stairwell crawling with Geth stalkers. After Tali went down from a blast between cover, Fredrick gunned down the offending stalker before getting down and healing the Quarian.

"Thank you Müller. That last hit took the wind out of me," Tali said as she slowly got back to her feet.

"Of course, just stick to cover next t-" Fredrick responded before beginning to violently cough. Subsequently, his suit locked down, the seals began to filter out the air in his suit, and his suit biometrics showed his body filtering out the unidentified harmful substance. "Ugh, what the fuck?"

"Shit, you okay?" Ashley asked as she took point.

As his gaze went back to the suit diagnostics, he answered, "Harmful spores, the suit hasn't identified them, and I'm not sure where the source is."

"Keelah, any idea what it could cause?" Tali asked with concern.

"Not sure, I've never encountered these spores before," he said as they exited into the body of the colony. The sight before them was dreary, the few prefabs that remained were charred with small burns and pot marks, flames and rubble littered the Prothean ruins the colony was based in, and the colonists were all occupied either protecting or maintaining what was left.

"This is bad," Linda commented as the group continued to walk through, taking in everything around them.

"No kidding, I'd be hard-pressed not to call bullshit if these guys lasted longer than seven hours at most. Look over there, I think that's Fai Dan," Fredrick added. The group began to approach a worn colonist and a soldier wearing light armor.

"Oh, commander. I'm glad they finally sent someone to help us," the worn man said with great relief.

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" the female soldier spat.

"Arcelia!" Fai Dan chastised. "Sorry, commander. Everyone's been on edge since-." Down another corridor of the ruins, a Geth buzzing was heard.

"Watch out!" Arcelia exclaimed, shoving Fai Dan out of the way of incoming plasma fire. "We've got Geth in the tower!"

Initiating her suit immunity booster and barrage coolant-filter on her assault rifle, Ashley said, "C'mon, let's kick these Geth's collective asses back to the Veil!"

Tali slid a new thermal clip into her shotgun before saying, "I'm ready."

With the addition of Fredrick's barriers to boot, the group leveled the rush of Geth units. Afterward, the group climbed further up the tower to enter a large opening full of various Geth units. As he injected himself with an overclock stim, Fredrick maintained his biotic barrier and encouraged, "Keep it up guys, they're falling back." The Geth just kept pouring into the tower via a dropship before being forced to regroup.

As Shepard continued to pick up salvage, Fredrick said as he gunned down a surviving Geth, "Tower is secured, Shepard. We should inform Fai Dan."

* * *

 **12 hrs/44 min/00 sec**

Fredrick shot the esophagus of the alpha Varren, causing it to choke and sputter before lying motionlessly. After more salvage and collecting some parts from a downed Grizzly, the group travelled further down several tunnels under the colony, shooting additional Geth along the way. While Tali repaired a water valve, Linda, Ashley, and Fredrick encountered a lone colonist, huddled in the corner in a ball.

"Don't go down there," the colonist said with a blank stare eerily similar to that of the first colonist they met before he was blown away by hostile Geth.

Linda wasn't even surprised anymore. There wasn't a scent, yet the whole colony reeked of something obviously suspicious. "What the hell are you doing this far behind enemy lines?"

"Nothing I should be, anything I shouldn't—AUUGH!" he answered before he rolled back onto the floor, clutching his head painfully like someone under cloak just smacked him. "ACK! That was a good one, very intense." Fredrick did a quick biometric scan of the colonist to find the poor man's mind crisscrossed with strands of some spore-like material.

"Shepard, he's got something growing on his nervous system. Nothing we can do for him right now until we can figure out what he's infected with," Fredrick said as he pulled out his omnitool.

Gazing blankly into the distance, the colonist continued, "Evoking the master's whip. Helps remind me I'm still alive. You're here for the Geth, aren't you? You're not the only one interested in those… things."

"Is it controlling him in some sort of parasitic relationship? Is it permanent?" Linda asked as Fredrick continued to look over the page.

"Unsure. This doesn't look like anything I or any other species have encountered. Perhaps it's some sort of bioweapon the Geth are using to pacify the colony," Fredrick shrugged.

"Looking to get rid of it, no? Looking to—GAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" the colonist asked before unleashing some cross between a laugh and a scream. Their conversation was cut short when Tali came rushing in, shooting her shotgun at approaching Geth. "Shepard, company!" she exclaimed.

"Just leave him, Skipper! We'll help him later!" Ashley said, as the others engaged.

* * *

 **13 hrs/07 min/08 sec**

The group returned to Fai Dan to inform him on their progress so far. "The tower is secure. Thanks to you and your companions, commander."

"Just glad your people are safe," Linda said, scratching the back of her head.

"I appreciate your concern and efforts against the Geth, however they've been pounding us continuously for weeks now and they aren't letting up," Fai said in return.

"Any idea what they are after?" Linda asked again.

"If you want answers, go ask them yourselves," the exhausted soldier bickered.

"To be honest, we don't know. We don't see any particular pattern to their attacks, and they don't seem to be targeting anything of significant importance. However, we suspect they have some interest in ExoGeni, as they've set up a foothold in the abandoned ExoGeni HQ," Fai answered.

"Fair enough. Can you direct me there?" Linda asked.

"You can get there via the skyway, you can't miss it. We have a transport you can borrow to get there in the garage up the elevator in the tower. It has some weapons on it, which will provide some assistance against the plentiful defenses the Geth have riddled the skyway with," the soldier answered.

"Good, we'll get on that. In the meantime, we managed to head around and do some minor repairs and provide assistance for the colony in the lower levels, even take down the pack of Varren attacking the food supplies. One thing that does stand out was a sick colonist down there."

Remembering the poor man, Fredrick decided to take account of the situation and check Fai Dan and his Lieutenant. Unfortunately, both had the same spores wrapped around their brains too, but they seemed to act relatively normal. _"Don't kid yourself, this was the same thing that happened when 'Benjamin' came back."_

"That would be Ian. He's not f-" Fai Dan began to answer.

"Thank you for informing us. We'll be back as soon as we've removed the Geth threat. Commander, I'd like to talk with you in person," Fredrick butted in, prompting the group to move along. As soon as the group got out of hearing distance of Fai and the soldier, he stated, "Fai and the other soldier had the same symptoms as Ian from earlier."

Raising an eyebrow with suspicion, Linda asked, "Are you sure? He seemed relatively normal. Sure, the first colonist we encountered acted odd, but Fai Dan didn't act anywhere near that creepy."

Getting onto the elevator, Fredrick explained further, "Ocular implants picked up the same substance residing in his brain. I've learned not to dismiss these sort of conditions based upon behavior the hard way."

"Wait, you're saying that we've basically been bathing in whatever caused Ian to lose his shit?" Ashley asked with the shocking revelation.

"That's why I was sputtering earlier, as my advanced immune system kicked in and reacted harshly with the spores. Which reminds me that I should probably check over you and Linda before we head out. I'd hate for the two of you to turn on me," Fredrick answered grimly as he laced some nanites on Ashley and Linda's necks. "I also recommend putting on your helmets and sealing them. I don't know how pungent these spores are, but at least we can do our best to filter them out."

The elevator doors opened to reveal a few colonists firing at Geth drones. The four of them had no problems gunning them down, but nothing could prepare them for the disappointment they felt when they saw the vehicle Fai Dan's lieutenant had mentioned. What rested before them was an unmodified M35 Mako. "Ugh, I knew those modifications would only be a quick fix," Ashley complained.

"Come on, let's go," Shepard beckoned to the group.

* * *

 **13 hrs/22 min/09 sec**

"Fucking piece of shit. Shepard, keep the vehicle still!" Fredrick cursed, repeatedly missing shots from the aim bouncing over the uneven skyway.

"I get it, the Mako is poorly designed," Linda said with annoyance as she ran over the last Geth unit in sight. She drove the Mako through a gate when Tali once more intercepted the radio transmission.

 _"We've got movement… some kind of vehicle, but it's not Geth."_

"Shepard, I've got a fix on the source of the signal. It should be right ahead of us," Tali perked up, tapping a dot on the radar monitor.

"Good. Everyone, get your gear and get ready to exit. I want to see if these people are holding out and whether we can assist. Ashley, take point," Shepard ordered as she turned off the engine and fetched her shotgun from the magnetic clips on her back.

"On it, Skipper," Ashley responded as she hopped out. The group found a ramp going further into the structure near where they parked, leading to a group of worried scientists protected only by a handful of actual soldiers.

"Stop! That's close enough!" one of the male scientists screamed, shakily aiming a pistol at the squad.

"Are you blind, Jeong? They're clearly not Geth," a female scientist said, walking up and pushing aside Jeong's pistol.

Wedging his way past the female scientist, Jeong ordered, "Get back, Juliana! I'm not taking any chances! Now, who are you and what the hell do you want?"

"Relax, we're Alliance Military, we're here to help," Linda chastised as she smacked the pistol out of the man's hand. It was pretty apparent none of the squad liked Jeong.

"Don't mind him. He's only worried about 'the company,' or what's _left_ of it anyways," Juliana dismissed.

"And _you_ trust too easily, Juliana," Jeong bickered.

"I'm just grateful to see a friendly face. I thought we were the last Humans on this rock," Julian said.

"Fai Dan and the remaining colonists of Zhu's Hope are still alive," Shepard stated.

"You _said_ they were all dead!" Juliana accused Jeong.

"I said they _might_ be dead," Jeong defended. His words felt like nails on a chalkboard.

"The colonists are holding, but barely," Fredrick stated.

"We know what that's like, those synthetic bastards are completely relentless," Juliana sympathized.

"We've got more than enough to solve the problem. Just tell us where to go," Linda responded.

"Just keep going down the skyline, goes directly to the ExoGeni HQ. They've overrun the place," Juliana answered. "Stay safe out there, and please keep an eye out for my daughter Lizabeth. She went missing just as the Geth started the invasion."

"Alright, fine. Deal with the infestation, but everything else in there is _private property_ , soldier," Jeong reminded.

"Just shut up, okay? We're not interested in your corporate secrets," Linda dismissed.

* * *

 **13 hrs/55 min/32 sec**

"You should've stayed on the factory floor," Fredrick said, tearing off the head of a Geth armature, kept in a small storage room.

"Area's secure, Skipper," Linda quipped as she gunned down the last stalker.

The team made their way over to the opposite side of what seemed to be left of the "main lobby." A shield blocked off the front entrance and the only optimal route was a hole leading a level under the main floor. "Unless you are all very agile, this is a one-way entrance into the building, guys."

"Shouldn't be too problematic with you along, now come on," Tali said as she edged into the hole. As everyone else followed behind her, the team walked down a dark corridor into what looked like a sewer tunnel under the ExoGeni HQ. The team only made a few strides into the open before a thermal round dashed in front of them and into the shadows to their left. Turning to the source of the shot, the group saw a single, young, female scientist holding a pistol.

"Damn it!" She edged closer before apologizing. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Geth, or one of those Varren."

"Don't worry, you're safe with us. In the meantime, who are you and what were you doing here?" Shepard asked, holstering her sidearm.

"I'm Lizbeth Baynham, I used to work here before the Geth arrived. I stayed behind to back up data while everyone else made it to safety. I couldn't make it out in time before the Geth took control of the tower and took down the power. All the exits are now blocked by patrols or covered in debris," the Lizbeth answered.

"The Geth are smart, but not invincible. We'll find a way to fight our way out," Linda assured her.

"It's not so much the Geth as it is the shield they've put up over the last entrance. They don't want anyone else getting access to… to…" Linda stuttered with hesitation.

"Look, we know that corporate secrets are important, but we need to know about what the Geth are after if we're going to stop them." Linda temporarily turned her attention to shoot a few Varren running up to meet them.

"I believe they might be after the Thorian, but I'm not positive."

"The Thorian? Is that what's producing airborne spores all around the colony?" Fredrick asked.

"For the most part, yes. ExoGeni was studying it. It… look, we need to get out of here first. I'll be able to tell you more once you get rid of the remaining Geth forces," Lizbeth continued to stutter. "I've tried looking, but I think our best way to get out of here is to cut the power going to the shields. Ever since the Geth dreadnought latched onto the building, it's been affecting the power."

"Destroying Geth infrastructure is our specialty. Let's go guys, and stick to safety, Lizbeth. Your mother was looking for you and I'd hate to bring back a bodybag." Linda ordered.

"She's alive? Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one left. Oh, and here, take my security clearance, you might need it," Lizbeth said with relief before handing the team a small card from a chest pocket on her person. The team weaved their way around a pack of Varren and made their way up a few levels before they encountered a Krogan Commander, attempting to access files at a terminal.

"Augh! Stupid machine! Once again, tell me what I asked for, or I'll blast your virtual ass into dust!" the Krogan barked.

"Please talk to your supervisor for level 4 security exemption. If there's nothing else, please step aside. There is a queue forming for use of this terminal," the orange VI ordered.

As the commander turned to see the intruders, Fredrick used his biotics to launch himself forward, slammed multiple punches into the Krogan to reduce its shields, before stabbing it through the head crest with his particle knife, dropping the commander to the floor. "Got him," Fredrick said simply.

"Wow, impressive," Ashley complemented as the Shepard turned on the VI terminal.

"Welcome back, Research Assistant Lizbeth Baynham. What can I do for you?" the VI greeted as the image shakily formed before them.

The team quickly learned that the Thorian was an ancient plant life form located under the Zhu's Hope colony. ExoGeni had been studying from afar using now heavily damaged sensors the gradual effects the creature had on the colonists. The Thorian leaked spores into the air that gradually infected sentient species that inhaled the spores. Before the sensors stopped responding, the vast majority of the colony had become infected.

"Shit, Joker? Come in, Joker? Fuck, coms are being jammed," Linda said as she tapping the side of her helmet.

"Geth dreadnoughts come with signal jammers. We've got to disable the dreadnought on the side of the building before we can contact the _Normandy_ ," Tali explained.

"VI, get me a map set up of the building. We need to disable the Geth dreadnought," Linda demanded.

"I have limited data concerning the Geth, given how they've effectively jammed all my sensors in this facility. However, based upon initial reports before the facility went dark, I can gain a general location as to where to look. I'll be updating your HUDs accordingly." The team wandered deeper and deeper into the empty hallways of the ExoGeni HQ, exiting onto a small balcony overlooking a group of claws, digging into the structure.

"They're dug deep and they aren't getting out of here any time soon," Fredrick commented, looking at the claws with concern. "Any recommendations, Tali?"

"I've seen the Geth dreadnoughts do the same thing on other Prothean structures earlier in my pilgrimage. They use multiple claws, but are dependent on having all of them be completely intact, so we've got to keep looking," Tali explained further.

"What the hell are those two doing down there?" Ashley commented on the two Geth shock troopers, huddled in a kneeling position.

"Tali, you mentioned the Geth established some sort of religion around the Harvesters, right?" Fredrick asked.

"That's what the data core from earlier stated, but I've never seen anything like this before," Tali commented as she shotgunned one of the Geth.

* * *

 **14 hrs/20 min/33 sec**

The team went from room to room, looking around level after level where the Geth dreadnought had dug its claws into the side of the building. Eventually, they came to a large room filled with Geth, monitors, and energy barriers. "A containment lab, interesting place to set up," Fredrick commented.

"Hey, you guys think if we shut the shutters over here, that these things could cut right through the claws?" Ashley asked, looking at a window where one of the claws stuck through.

"Perhaps. Just give me time to work with this over here," Shepard said with distraction. She was working with an undamaged monitor at the back of the room, prodding the various buttons. "There, that should do the trick," she said, pressing a button. The window shutters violently closed on the dreadnought claws, severing them before the building shook with the dreadnought tumbling to the ground far below.

"That should deal with the shields. All that's left to deal with is the Thorian," Fredrick said.

 _I- t, sho- rty. Do you read me? Is anyone there? Talk to me dammit!_ Joker repeated as the effects of the jamming device wore off.

Quick to respond, Linda returned, "We're still here Joker, what's the situation?"

 _Something's wrong with the colonists, they're going berserk and are banging on the hull of the ship. It's like they're rabid or something. We've locked down the ship and the barriers are still holding. Any further orders till you get back here?_

"Looks like those spores cause them to be hostile towards uninfected," Fredrick commented.

"Shit. Keep them back with smoke and flashbangs if you have to, we'll get back there ASAP, out. Geth will be all over this place any minute, let's go," Linda ordered, grinding her teeth under pressure.

The team quickly returned to the front lobby of the building to meet Lizabeth, who'd made her way out. "Oh, there you are! We should get out of here. It's not safe here any more," she said with relief.

"Firstly, we need answers. There's obviously more to the Thorian than you're letting in on," Linda demanded, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

Lizabeth stuttered with panic before explaining, "Look, I wanted to get word out about the tests, but my superiors blackmailed me into silence, said I'd be next if a single word got out. When the Geth attacked, I tried to get word out to colonial affairs, but the power cut. The Thorian is located directly under the Zhu's Hope colony, but the entrance was blocked before the Geth arrived."

"Smart move, but any idea why the Saren would want it? We do know that it retains the ability to control organics," Linda prompted further.

"True, but I can't help but wonder if there's more to it," Lizabeth answered.

Normandy _to shore party, I'm picking up lots of Geth com activity, they're heading your way._ Normandy _to shore party, the Geth are closing in on your location, out._

"Time's running out, let's go. Lizabeth, come with us, we'll get you to safety."

* * *

 **14 hrs/45 min/42 sec**

The team had made their way back over the skyline and past the Geth forces when Tali began to intercept transmissions from the ExoGeni group. _-s there anybody pick-?_ the voice asked before being cut off. _Get away from that radio!_

"Wait, what was that about?" Lizabeth asked with panic.

"That's your mother if my memory serves me correctly," Fredrick said, looking down from the gunner seat of the Mako.

 _-is Juliana Baynham of the Feros colony. Please he-_ the radio continued to cut out.

"That's my mom! Stop! Stop the rover!" Lizabeth demanded as the Mako pulled along side the entrance to their camp.

Following closely behind, the team caught Jeong as he was having Juliana restrained. "Hah, Shepard! Damn, I knew it was too much hope the Geth would kill you. I found some interesting facts about you and your friend in white armor in the ExoGeni databases. There's no reason for this to get bloody!"

"Then give me a reason why it shouldn't, Jeong," Fredrick threatened.

Rolling her eyes, Linda responded, "Look, our objective hasn't changed. We're here to clear out the Geth, find what they were looking for and clear out the Thorian before it causes the colonists to hurt anyone."

With a sigh, Jeong continued, "Look, now that coms are back up, ExoGeni just relayed to me that they want this colony purged."

"Goddamit, this is a _Human_ colony! You can't just repurpose us!" Lizabeth screamed.

"We know about the Thorian and what it's doing to the people. We can still save the colony, but only if we can get in there and tactically cut the thing away," Linda continued to reason.

"So you keep saying. But no one's going to miss a few colonists," Jeong dismissed.

"I don't care what what the hell ExoGeni plans to do with that plant, Jeong. You can't just throw people's lives away," Linda said.

"Oho! So it's true! The Alliance just had to throw their agents into my place of work and spy on me, and now they want to shut me down! I won't let you stop me, Shepard! I've got investors with their eyes glued on me and I've got a space in the higher ranks with my name on it!" Jeong said, eyes wide open with panic and side arm swinging around like a toy.

 _"Tsk tsk tsk, poor foolish Jeong. You didn't stand a chance. Your stupidity just had to get the better of you,"_ Fredrick thought to himself as he poked at his side arm. He was just out of Jeong's peripheral vision, and was tinkering with his pistol before he raised it, leveled it with Jeong's head and pulled the trigger. "Problem solved. Any of you grunts want to follow suit?" he asked as he put his aim on the soldiers, who were moving to respond to his burst of violence.

Linda gave him another glaring look. "I didn't like the bastard either, but could you at least warn me about when you're going to cap someone?"

"Whatever, now comes the issue of combating the Thorian without harming those it has infected. Do you have anything that could help us, Juliana?" Fredrick asked, immediately dismissing Shepard's plea.

"Fortunately, we do. I did develop a prototype gas grenade towards harming the spores. We manufactured some in case the Thorian got out of control," Juliana spoke up before walking over to a pile of crates.

"Good," Shepard said. "Any idea what the Thorian looks like?"

"It's big, weird, and it's pissed off, but it's stationary. Other than the defenses it has grown, you won't need to worry about it directly," Juliana answered as she opened a crate, revealing the couple dozen grenades lying within.

* * *

 **15 hrs/15 min/53 sec**

Fredrick slugged the last crazed colonist into unconsciousness before dropping his nanite shield. The colony was now crawling in plant-like humanoid creature, and they were incredibly relentless. Tali shot a creeper that had Shepard pinned down before muttering, "Creepy bosh'tet. You alright, Shepard?"

"Fine, thanks for the assist," Shepard responded as Fredrick tended to her injuries and helped her to her feet.

As the team operated the crane to lift the prefab to gain access to an underground passage, Fai Dan came stumbling out into the open, holding a pistol. His movements suggested resistance, but barely. Every step he took, he fought himself like he was rigged like a puppet. "I- I tried to fight it, b-but you caaan't get it out of your head. You can't imagine the _pain_ ," Fai grimaced.

Fredrick edged forward, hands out in a friendly gesture like he was approaching a hostage. "Just bare with me, Fai Dan. I can treat you, just keep fighting it," he encouraged.

Raising the pistol, Fai continued like no one had said anything. "These people trusted me, I was supposed to be their leader. It wants me to stop you. But- I- WON'T." Fai quickly shoved his pistol under his chin and pulled the trigger. Fredrick stared at the body for a few seconds longer before following the others to the Thorian.

The team followed a small, tight corridor and saw what looked like a bigger chamber. "Simple enough, find the Thorian and search for where its tissue is sof-." He stopped when he saw the enormous creature, taking up the vast space of the chamber. "Of all the times I wished I had an MG-13."

"That's a plant?" Linda asked. The Thorian more resembled a giant heart with multiple tendrils attached to the walls around it for support with what looked like an octopus' maw at the front facing them. The creature began to pulsate, and the tentacles trembled as the creature expelled some humanoid creature. The figure rose to reveal itself as an Asari commando with a green skin pigment.

"Invaders!" the Asari spoke in monotone. "Every step you take is a transgression. The master appraises you as meat, good on-" she continued before Fredrick shoved her off the edge with his biotics.

"Look, we have no intention of harming you," Fredrick negotiated. "We're simply here for what Saren was after."

The Thorian simply gurgled before it produced a bellowing, heavy, wet, deep voice like that of a symphony. "More lies from the synthetic enemy. Saren had come earlier seeking knowledge on the Protheans. We made a fair trade of flesh before he decidedly turned his forces against me. I have complete doubt you will be any different, Müller."

Fredrick growled with anger. "Just because I'm not entirely organic doesn't make me the enemy."

"Feel free to continue spewing your tainted words. Simply acknowledge my words when those beneath you will stand against you." The Thorian began to throw more of the creepers against the team, forcing them into action against the giant beast. The climbed level after level of the chamber, killing creepers and Asari commando clones every step of the way and cutting through tendrils in the process, eventually casting the Thorian into the pit below.

As they cut through the last cord of flesh, a pod behind them opened, sending a normal Asari commando to the floor. Fredrick looked over the woman and her diagnostics. While she did show signs of the Harvester infection, she still stood within the confines of being treatable. Getting on his knees, he said as he laced her head with nanites, "Hold still, this will be quick."

Her eyes were still uncoordinated, but slowly began to speak. "I- what happened?"

"Don't worry, you're safe. Who are you? What is the last thing you remember?" Linda asked.

"My name is Lieutenant Shiala, I served under Matriarch Benezia, and we all continued serving her when she allied herself with Saren and Sovereign. She saw what would happen and wanted to guide Saren down a gentler path. I don't know what happened after that, his words seemed to melt through all other reason," Shiala said as she rose to her feet. "For all of us, reality became this strange mix of reality and fantasy."

"Well, there's nothing you could've done for Saren, with or without his current condition, because I saw to that. What can you tell me about the dreadnought he has?" Fredrick asked.

"It's large, advanced, and something far beyond anything the Geth could've made. There's something about it that causes even the most simply concepts of the world around you to become confusing. Hallways seem longer, corners seem rounded, light becomes darkness, and memories all seem out of place. We all fell to his spell and sought the same goal he sought. The exterior looks like something organic, he called it Sovereign," Shiala explained.

"Sovereign? Strange name. Anyways, that's no ordinary ship, Shiala," Fredrick continued. Like with the others, he explained briefly what the Harvesters were.

"The- Reapers? I see. When Saren brought me to this world, he sought better understanding of knowledge he'd acquired from a Prothean beacon and used me as a translator and trading piece. The Thorian has been around for millennia and had first spawned long before the Protheans' reign. It studied them, and it consumed their remains when they disappeared. After he got the knowledge he needed, he ordered the Geth to silence the Thorian to cover his tracks. He knows you're following him and tried to destroy any remaining access to the Cipher," Shiala continued.

"What's the Cipher? How is it important?" Shepard asked.

"The Cipher is the fundamental understanding of Prothean physiology and culture. You'll need it if you're going to understand the visions the beacon on Eden Prime gave you," Shiala explained. "I was needed to meld minds with Saren and the Thorian to share this knowledge. Cipher isn't something that can be taught it simply exists. I can meld minds with you to give you the Cipher as well before you leave."

"I dunno Skipper, are you sure this is safe?" Ashley asked.

"We don't have many options, and I'm the only other one who has knowledge from that beacon. Do what you have to, Shiala."

* * *

 **18 hrs/54 min/15 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **briefing room, en route to the Armstrong Cluster**

After forcing the remaining Geth into full retreat and leaving Shiala to help the colony to make a recovery, Shepard and the others left planetside for the Armstrong System.

Liara, still vying for Shepard's romantic emotions was the first to ask about her state. "Commander? You look… pale. Are you experiencing any ill effects from the Cipher?"

"I'm sure the major would've picked up on it if I were," Linda answered as she sat down. "Even then, I'm still confused as to what it's supposed to mean."

"I can meld minds again if it will provide any better insight to the Cipher's meaning. I do have some experience with the Protheans' culture," Liara offered.

"We don't have much time, do it," Linda ordered with exhaustion. It'd been a long day and she was already tired of having melded minds earlier that day.

The two stood up and came close before Liara said, "Try to relax, commander. Embrace eternity." To everyone else in the room, a mere second had passed by before the discussion continued.

"That was… incredible," Liara started. "I never thought that of all my research, I'd ever see anything like this. I'm surprised you were mentally capable of withstanding the original information transfer, commander. Most others wouldn't be capable of withstanding the process."

Everyone else rolled his or her eyes and Ashley lead the first question. "Alright, fun time's over, what did you see?"

"The beacon on Eden Prime must've been heavily damaged, as Shepard has only received some of the images. In other words, her vision is incomplete," Liara said.

"Is there something that you saw in there? A clue concerning the Conduit's location?" Linda asked as she returned to her seat.

"I can only see what we already know based upon Fredrick's knowledge of the Reapers, nothing yet. Perhaps Saren has the other fragment," Liara answered. "I'll need some time to better understand the vision."

"Keep at it, Liara. We're making good progress. The rest of you are dismissed," Linda ordered.


	6. Chapter 6: Nostalgia and Nightmares

(A/N): Back into the swing of the dorm. Sorry this one took so long, it's just things were a bit rough to start with, and will be for a bit, so progress will be a bit slow.

Chapter 6: Nostalgia and Nightmares

 _Regardless of how inexperienced these young soldiers are, talking to them does put my mind of the inevitable threat that we face. Even though the mission is supposedly to prevent the Harvesters from coming back, I damn well know there will be no prevention. Whether it be the past or present, anything proves helpful to put off disturbing thoughts._

* * *

 **March 05, 2183**

 **11 hrs/26 min/19 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **bridge, en route to the Maroon Sea**

"So, you're serious? That could work?" Jeff asked.

Fredrick was currently walking around the ship in civies, unlike how he usually walked around in his armor. While his armor was designed for comfort, he did occasionally take it off between missions. "Well, saying from a stand point where we have minimal knowledge on nanite reconstruction at your age, yes. Of course, after six months under a medically induced coma and three to four months of physical rehabilitation. Other than that, I could easily see you walking around after ten months of medical treatment without any assistance."

"Shit, and you could do that for me? I mean, after we deal with the Reapers and all," Jeff said with genuine excitement.

"I've got surprisingly great pull in the Terran system, and I've got some assets I could devote towards your cause," Fredrick answered.

"Damn, it'd be nice to walk around without having to worry about breaking something. What sort of rehab would I be undergoing?" Joker returned with some awe hovering over his voice like water vapor.

"Mostly physical to compensate for any muscular dystrophy and getting used to the fact your bones aren't made of porcelain any more. Anyways, I need some lunch. Make sure we don't run into anything," Fredrick said as he turned to leave.

"Keep at it, Freddy." Fredrick was letting the name 'Freddy' slide for once, considering that Jeff at least had comedic charm.

As he walked downstairs and got a MRE, he sat down next to a group of chanting marines. The group was cheering on two marines who were arm wrestling, and were stuck at what appeared to be a stalemate. As he turned his attention back to his meal, he heard a thump on the table followed by a large mass of cheers and jeers. As the group exchanged their betting money, one of the marines called out to him, saying, "Hey doc, wanna join in?"

Swallowing, Fredrick answered, "No thanks, corporal. I'm confident Shepard would appreciate it if I didn't pop one of your arms out of your sockets. I'm sure not even Wrex would be a close match. I _did_ push the Mako back on Therum."

He watched as Wrex and Garrus approached the dining table he was at, already in their own conversation. "And that's when you met Müller?" Garrus guessed.

Wrex, swallowing a handful of food answered, "Yeah, I and two others came back from a job to the Citadel when we found him drinking at Flux. The others didn't make much of him at the time, seeing he'd already been there for a while. They thought they could push him around, seeing he'd had plenty of empty glasses on the table. It turns out Fredrick is really good at handling his alcohol."

"Enhanced organs, Wrex. I could keep going for hours past whenever the rest of you have passed out," Fredrick inserted.

"Anyways, I'm surprised you can put up with these Pyjacks, Fredrick. I pegged you more of the loner type," Wrex commented between fists full of food.

"Of course not, I ran with my own team right before I met with you. I had a pilot, a weapons expert, a demolitionist, a sharpshooter, a recon, an engineer, and myself: the team leader and medic." Fredrick took a sip before continuing. "It was a lot simpler back then before we discovered the Harvesters. We mostly stuck to dealing with law enforcement and petty missions."

By now, Tali, Linda, and Ashley had joined in on the conversation. "So, what specifically did you do?" Tali asked.

* * *

 **Sept 08, 2048**

 **10 hrs/49 min/50 sec**

 **TMSD** _ **Persistence**_ **, en route to the Hades Nexus, Hoplos System**

 _We'd still only been recently introduced to the galactic community at the time, and we were still gaining a foothold in the systems surrounding ours. We were settled deep into the Attican Traverse and were just on the border of the Terminus Systems. To keep us safe meant clearing out some room around our little cluster, and all those little pirate-run stations had to go. Additionally, we wanted to set the public image that we were willing to play our part in galactic safety._

As he was half way through putting on his armor, he set some time to sit and stare at the picture he had stashed in his locker. It showed himself with a brown haired and gray-eyed woman, both smiling and in a park back at home taken a few years ago. The two had been on shore leave at the time and were spending the day with each other. To constantly contact with each other without peering eyes looking too much into their activities, they had their omnitools wired with illegal backdoors, using a private channel. While the two still cared for each other, they preferred to refer to each other as friends and that their romantic activities of years prior was a symptom of youth for the time being.

As he put the photo back and put on the rest of his armor, he walked out of the locker room to the hanger bay. Only himself and Amory had prepared for the mission and were conversing with each other to pass the time. "He _did_ wake up. The ring clearly wasn't on his hand," Amory argued.

"Bullshit, the top was making absolutely _no_ indication of stopping. Besides, wasn't it weird that they all woke up at the same time?" Fredrick returned. "What does the ring have to do anyways?"

"If you paid any attention like I did, it only showed up during the dream sequences. Anyways, here come the others. I'm still right," Amory finished with his usual smug motif.

"Whatever. What took you guys so long? It's been fifteen minutes, we're almost at Aegis," Fredrick chastised.

"Nothing important, Fred. Besides, what are we even doing in Terminus territory? We don't even have any colonies out here, and pirates are just some figment of… what was it? The 15th Century?" Henry excused.

"Pirates are pirates, and I don't want the notion of the bastards getting the drop on any of us. I'd hope you would actually pay attention to the briefings for once and gain some actual context as to why we're out here?" Lauren pointed out.

"Cmmoan ab'dy, quit the facking havering, we're aff to shoot things. That's bound to cheer ya'll up!" Mary encouraged.

" _Ay, that's the spirit,_ " Ivan said.

"In English please?" Nolan bickered.

"Nolan, you've had forever to install Russian, I don't want to have this conversation again," Ivan shot back.

"Now now, I've been idling for twenty minutes for the lot of you, don't make me wait any longer," Amory piped up. Getting aboard, the team quickly lifted off and began to fly into the vacuum and away from the safety of the _Persistence_.

"So, what's the plan?" Henry asked as he loaded several EMP rounds into his launcher.

"Our target is a small station orbiting Aegis, a gas giant. Amory will bring us up alongside the station and drop us off into the vacuum where we'll make our way to an airlock on the side of the station. The airlock is meant for maintenance purposes, so the space will be a bit tight. Nolan will be cutting through security to open it, but we wont have too long till the station realizes we're inside, so expect resistance not too long after we break in. We've done this drill a dozen times, so Let's jump in and show them what Crimson Squad is made of," Fredrick explained.

 _"We're coming up along the airlock guys, the cabin will be depressurizing in ten seconds,"_ Amory announced over the intercom. _"Good luck out there, and call me for pickup."_

"What could go wrong?" Ivan asked.

"Ay, don't jinx it you div," Mary said, smacking Ivan across the head. Now void of oxygen, the cabin silently opened up, revealing the view of the pitch-blackness, only filled by the view of the gas giant before them. Shoving off of the wall opposite to the now opened cabin, the team dove right down towards the asteroid ring orbiting the planet while Fredrick used his biotics to flick aside pieces of space debris.

 _"Hundred times over and you'll never get used to the pure silence out here,"_ Nolan muttered over the coms.

"Mary, give me a gage as to how much further to the station," Fredrick ordered.

 _"Still just over five hundred meters. You sure jumping out as far as we did wasn't too excessive?"_ Mary confirmed.

"Nothing wrong with the element of surprise Mary. Besides, we've got more than enough oxygen to play a good round of Frisbee out here," Fredrick assured.

 _"Assuming you don't miss,"_ Lauren inserted.

 _"Biotic addons exist for a reason. It's not my fault you've had several years' time to get them,"_ Henry retorted.

After another few minutes of silent travel and bickering, the team bumped into the station and Fredrick pulled the team by a small maintenance hatch. "Alright, we're all in one piece. Nolan, start getting that hatch open, we'll keep an eye out for any trouble coming by," Fredrick ordered.

 _"Strange, isn't it? These guys have been out here centuries before we have and somehow shit like this still works,"_ Henry injected.

 _"Didn't I say, 'don't jinx it,' back on the ship?"_ Mary questioned.

 _"No one believes in karma anymore,"_ Ivan answered.

 _"I'm not the one who said 'the bomb won't detonate' only for you to fuck up the defuse. You're lucky Fred's covered ya,"_ Mary reminded.

 _"Doesn't matter any more, the door's open guys,"_ Nolan interrupted. The team climbed in the small hole and shut the hatch behind them, watching as the room initiated cleansing procedures and sound rushed back into the room. "You guys are lucky no one can figure out how to intercept our coms yet."

Fredrick cautiously opened the door leading back into the body of the station and peered down the metallic hallways leading away. "Looks like we haven't caught any attention yet. Nolan, take Henry and Lauren with you, Ivan and Mary will be with me. I uploaded the station map onto your omnitools before we left the _Persistence_ , but be careful not to get separated or lost."

"Couldn't we just head to the ventilation system maintenance and vent the station? Kill all these fuckers with vacuum?" Lauren asked.

"Lauren, what the fuck is wrong with you? We clearly can't. I don't care if these are all Pigheaded motherfuckers and pirates. More often then not, they've got captured civies and slaves on hand, and I will not have collateral damage on my watch. We'll be clearing the decks by two's, and we'll start with the top two levels and make our way down, and watch your targets," Fredrick chastised.

Dismissively waving her hand, Lauren responded, "Just a suggestion, no need to get salty over such a 'bad' idea."

* * *

"Sure, we bickered with each other, and didn't take the entirety of our jobs very seriously, but we still worked like a well-oiled machine. Then again, what do you expect? After a while, being a glorified errand-boy does lose its shine rather quickly, but what do you expect after a hundred and forty cycles?" he finished in between swigs of water.

"So, whatever happened to them?" Garrus asked.

"Oh don't worry, they're all still alive and in different units by now, so this ship is in no way doomed from the word go by my presence," Fredrick assured with a chuckle. "We still stay in contact though."

Scratching the back of her neck, Tali asked, "What did you mean by 'Pighead?' I've heard that term used before."

"It's slang for Batarian, refers to some animal from Earth. We… well, that's a war story for another day."

* * *

 **March 12, 2183**

 **15 hrs/16 min/00 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **hanger bay, en route to the Hawking Eta**

"Impressive, you've improved your technique since we last practiced," Fredrick complemented. To make sure that Liara, the most important teammate for providing information second to himself, survived in the field he decided it necessary to personally provide Liara with close-quarters combat training. He practiced with her in the hanger area with light armor for her own safety and a combat knife. Additionally, he'd provided her with tips on her biotics usage and self-defense should she be ambushed.

"I do try my best," Liara retorted, taking a long drink for a water canteen.

Suddenly, Linda came down on the lift and exited into the hanger area, talking with Garrus. "Thanks Shepard, I really appreciate this opportunity."

"Yeah, well we'll see how bad the bastard is when we get there." Linda made a beeline over to Fredrick now that he'd finished with Liara's practice session. "Hey doc, how's Liara doing?"

"Fine, she's doing well, and is more adaptable than if perceived her to be," Fredrick answered. It was mostly because of Liara's youth and naivety that caused him to believe that she wouldn't be ready for the field of combat yet. "So, what was that conversation you held with Garrus about?"

"Some crooked Salarian doctor by the name of Dr. Saleon. Sold organs on the black market by growing cloned new ones inside of his employees. I want to help him, but he prefers that we kill him instead of apprehending him," Linda answered with a somewhat unsettled tone.

"Garrus isn't entirely in the wrong to do so. That's a severe violation of several laws and regulations in more civilized space to the point of being warrantable for the death penalty. Even if we do drag him in, he'll probably end up dead regardless. That aside, interesting that you're taking the time to help the crew," Fredrick noted.

"Well, Wrex needed to get his family armor back, simply put. Besides, Garrus is… a friend and I'm not going to ignore his problems," Linda said with a brief pause. "Quick question, have you encountered Husks before this mission?"

"Plenty, and even they are a mess to deal with by Terran standards. While we usually haven't seen them put on spikes, they surpass a level five infection if exposed to certain types of Harvester hardware for long enough. If they make physical contact at that point, their bodies are slowly converted to a semi-synthetic compound. On the occasions I've fought them, there were plenty where two or more across different species were merged together in some sort of melted mess out of a horror vid. Nasty shit, and especially hard to deal with if they have weapons molded into their flesh," Fredrick described. "From what I can tell, the spikes are for an accelerated transformation process. Directly tapping into the nervous system and internal organs, they are simply transformed much more easily."

"Fuck. You've mentioned the term 'infected' several times by now, what exactly do you mean?" Linda inquired further.

"It's our way of saying the indoctrination process that Shiala mentioned. To reiterate, after some given exposure to Harvester artifacts, the energy waves they produce more directly affect the brain tissue, first causing erratic neural activity, followed by tumors, and finally disfigured hormone glands. The glands eventually produce something different altogether, and along with the hallucinations cause the victim to become complacent under the Harvesters' control. The levels I mentioned are to signify how to deal with certain victims. Level ones have had minimal exposure and simply need a little time to recover. Level twos have had light exposure and need some time off before returning to work. Level threes have had moderate exposure by this point and will need some light nanite treatment before they are allowed at all to resume their lives. Level fours have had heavy exposure and will need extensive nanite treatment and long-term rest before they can be considered truly recovered. Finally, there's level fives which are completely converted, and there's nothing nanites can do for them besides completely eat up their brain. Nothing we can do besides put them out of their misery," Fredrick answered.

"Well, hopefully it won't come down to that when we encounter Benezia," Linda responded as she watched Liara leave the hanger. "Returning to why I needed to see you, I just received orders from command concerning a biotic cult lead by a former Major Kyle, and they said you knew him."

A sudden chill, followed by a heat surge of rage filled his body. He remembered the accusations he received after Torfan, and still wasn't ready to forgive the Systems Alliance for underpreparing him and the men he was sent with. He took a long breath before answering. "Following the Skyllian Blitz, the offensive you held off, the Systems Alliance contacted me concerning the counter-offensive they'd be launching in an effort to ward off the P- Batarian extremists and keep the colonies safe. They wanted an expert on the bastards for strategy and some training for some of the forces to boot. Outside of the guys I personally trained, none of the thousands of marines sent down to that miserable rock had neither the sufficient experience nor the supplies needed to live to tell the tale. Of the twelve thousand that went in, only some two thousand came back out, and I received a lot of public slander for that day."

"Yeah, I'll admit, knowing you were the Butcher of Torfan almost put me off bringing you on this mission. Damn, I suppose I got off easy with just Elysium," Linda commented.

"I'm not a stranger to being a man of infamy, Shepard. When will we get there?" Fredrick returned.

"A few hours' time. Hopefully you won't have too much trouble digging up bad memories? You can stay behind if you want," Linda said.

"I'll be fine," he said before turning away to the lockers at the other side of the room.

Putting away the training gear, Ashley said, "Damn, I didn't know you were the Butcher of Torfan. What was that like?"

"Another pit of hell I had to walk through. Don't get me wrong Williams; I am by no stretch of the imagination a paradigm of morally righteous people in this Galaxy. I'll admit that I do indeed have some prejudices of my own, but I'm not exactly ready to tell the tale of their roots," Fredrick said grimly.

* * *

(P.S.): I'm really sorry that this one took a while. While this was in-part caused by school, it was equally caused by my procrastination.


	7. Chapter 7: Chills

(A/N): Sorry if this came out a bit late, computer crashed and I lost quite a bit of progress. I'll try to compensate somehow.

Chapter 7: Chills

 _I believed the best approach to a dangling past like this would be to ignore it and move along, at least till the Harvesters were dealt with. But after bringing back up Kyle and Torfan, I'm not so sure anymore. Even after that issue has been resolved, things which I had thought I'd left behind are now coming back to haunt me._

* * *

 **March 13, 2183**

 **10 hrs/26 min/09 sec**

 **Presrop, Century System, Hawking Eta**

"Good, you're getting better at this," Fredrick complemented as he watched Liara toss the acidic bile back at their assailant.

Watching as Garrus finished the beast off, she returned, "I'm just doing my best."

Linda, calling the three back said, "Good to see that training in the hanger is paying off. Now come on, I'd like to get Kyle out of the way before we head to Noveria." After returning to the Mako, the team drove further along a canyon towards a cluster of prefabs Joker had spotted and marked on the moon. At their destination, the buildings were all put together in a small opening where the valley ended and parked in front of the main building. After exiting the vehicle, the team walked up to the front entrance, only to be greeted by one of the biotic extremists over the intercom.

 _"This is a private sanctuary. Outsiders are not welcome here,"_ the man growled from inside the building.

Already, they were off to a bad start. "I need to speak with the man in charge, it's important," Linda said cautiously.

 _"Father Kyle wants nothing more to do with the Alliance. Leave now."_ The group then noticed a security camera placed above the door of the entrance.

Fredrick stepped forward and around Linda saying, "Look, Shepard, I'm not Alliance and Kyle knows me personally. Perhaps I might be able to convince them. Ah, hello? My name is Major Müller of the Terran Marine Corps. I fought along side Kyle in the Battle of Torfan, and I've come for the sake of his personal well being." Nothing worked like a bit of brownnosing.

There was a long pause before the guard answered back. _"Father Kyle doesn't recognize you Major, but he says to allow you access if you truly are under the banner of truce. He currently resides in the medical prefab to the east."_

The team made their way over to the round building and entered the airlock. Stepping inside and watching the decontamination cycle complete, Liara, Linda, and Garrus pulled off their helmets before stepping inside. As they walked through the building to the other side, they watched as they passed by the biotic "extremists." The followers wore nothing more than civies and were only armed with off-brand weapons and equipment. As they entered Kyle's chamber, they saw Kyle solely occupied the center of the room at a desk. Lightly looking up from his work, he said, "I'm Major Kyle, and I know why you've come. I have no quarrel with you, so why won't you leave us alone?"

Fredrick once again stepped forward from his squad, took off his helmet and stepped up to the desk while a growing look of shock grew across Kyle's face. "Hello Kyle, it's been a while. How've you been?"

Shaking his head, Kyle answered, "I- I didn't know it was you just by the basic description. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help. The Alliance is pissed off someone killed two of their officers and I'm trying to see the issue resolved," Fredrick answered.

"What? That's it? No, forget it. I don't know just what the hell you're trying to accomplish in life, but let me get one thing straight. The first thing you ask me after five years is that you want something?" Kyle said, face shifting from shock to rage.

"What the hell am I supposed to say? 'I'm sorry'? Torfan was hell for all of us, including those who survived and those who didn't, Kyle. I'm as much a victim as you are in that relationship!" Fredrick jabbed back.

"Oh, is that what you think? You toss some ten thousand marines into that bon fire and you're the one who's victimized? Well let me remind you that people at home don't like having caskets for sons, husbands, fathers, friends, and brothers. You didn't even care that all of those marines died!" Kyle retorted.

Fredrick took a sigh. Swinging his way through this wasn't going to work, and he would need a more tactical approach. "You think I don't care about those lives? I've always had a sketchy track record, but do you have any idea how hard things have been to accomplish when you have 'Butcher of Torfan' hanging on your neck? I was kicking myself for two years after that fight for getting as many men as I did get killed on that rock. But let's face it; the Alliance gave us insufficient resources to take down something much bigger than we could handle with what we were given. The guys we were sent down there with were undertrained, unprepared, and any who did make it out alive were incredibly lucky."

Kyle's face shifted from angered to depressed before he continued. "Shit, I know that- look, life has been hard for me as well after that mess. I just couldn't get the memories out of my head, and helping people is the only real way to subside the pain. I couldn't get past how many guys died from that initial landing, and I don't want to make that same mistake again. I had no other choice but to kill those Alliance officers, I feared what they would do to these people. As far as they are concerned, they're weapons and they have no other place in society."

Better, Kyle was letting up. This was his chance. "I want to help minimize the blood shed here and I want to help you, but you've got to trust me. I know you're still in shock, but I truly feel that this would be for the best. The Alliance doctors will see that you make a full recovery and I'll do my part to see to it that they leave these people alone. Understand?"

Kyle finally returned to a calm state and answered, "I understand, Fredrick. Thank you. Just let me talk to my people, I don't want them to panic from a misunderstanding. I'll surrender myself."

"The Alliance will send help by at some point. Take care of yourself, Kyle."

* * *

 **March 27, 2183**

 **20 hrs/31 min/15 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **, en route to Noveria from the Armstrong Cluster**

I did help slightly to deal with Kyle and any remaining guilt concerning Torfan, but it didn't help improve his attitude of their course of the next couple of weeks. Now that he knew how to properly confront his past demons, his mind now returned to the issues he'd buried, both past and present. It caused him to revert back to his more aggressive combat style, choosing to rush and tear enemies in CQC as opposed to sticking to cover and moving up with the team.

Liara had visited the washroom and was returning to her bunk in the room behind the medbay she'd been given as living quarters and workspace. As she entered, she noticed Fredrick sleeping in one of the medbay beds, still wearing his full armor after the day. Since knowing that he had connections to Saren, and some indirect connection to her parents, she thought this would be an opportunity she would not pass over.

Putting down her toiletries kit on the table next to the bed, she walked over to him and looked over his sleek armored body. He seemed tranquil, opposite to his behavior during the day of now constant unrest and unease. She brushed her hand lightly on his bronze tinted visor, closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

"Embrace eternity!"

* * *

 _ **UNK ?, ? &^%**_

 _ **? hrs/? min/?sec**_

 _ **The Void**_

 _"What the hell was that?" one voice asked with alarm._

 _"What was what?" another returned, showing confusion._

 _"That sound just now. Think that was a stalker?"_

 _"All I'm hearing is your whining ass, now get moving. You're scaring the children." Liara opened her eyes to see what looked like a group of survivors all in ragged clothing and scavenged equipment. They were currently walking through what appeared to be a ruinous building, but it was too dark to tell. For all she knew, they could've been in a cave._

 _One of the soldiers briefly looked back at her and the others before beckoning, revealing to be what looked to be Fredrick's subconscious form. "Come along, we don't have much time."_

 _The long group of people finally came across an opening revealing the outside world. When her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, she looked around and saw the Feros landscape. After the skirmish with the Geth weeks earlier, she'd gone to the colony to help with medical aid before they left the planet. Compared to the last time she saw it, the ancient buildings were somehow further engulfed in flame, the skies were blotted out with smoke, and the distance outlined more of the dreadnought monstrosities Shepard had shown her. Beginning to make their way down the skybridge, the leader of the pack said, "Keep it up, and stick to cover! We can't afford to be spotted now!"_

 _She looked around as she crept from pile of rubble to pile of rubble, watching as the wind picked up dust and threw it around. What was this? Why did Fredrick dream of this chaos? What prompted such horrible nightmares? Suddenly, two mechanical creatures jumped down in front of the group and cut them off from further advancement._

 _"Shit! Shit!" a nameless soldier shrieked in panic._

 _Stepping forward, Fredrick biotically charged into one and flung the other some distance forward in one fluid movement. Continuing to fight the two alone, he maintained equal balance of concentrated fire on the two while simultaneously dodging their attacks. As he finished with the two, he warned, "Look out! A third!"_

 _From behind the group where she was, another jumped down and lifted its left arm to fire a projectile at the group. Instinctively from her training with Fredrick, she grappled the missile using her biotics, turned to maintain the velocity, and threw it back at the offending monstrosity before finally shielding herself and the others from the explosion with a barrier. As any remaining life sputtered out of the metal creature, it sputtered out a chain of incoherent sounds._

 _"DUORPEMEDAMSYAWLAUOYARAILEMEVIGROFYRROSOSMIWONKTNDIDI"_

 _She stood there for a moment, pondering the meaning of the sound. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by what sounded like Fredrick running up behind her. "Wow! That was an impressive… impressive… impre-." He stuttered for a second when he started to get a good look at her. Staring at her for a few seconds. "What are you doing here?" he asked with calm shock._

 _Before she could respond, a bright, blinding explosion detonated over his shoulder and swept them away in a bright light._

 _When the light temporarily died down, she saw what looked her mother, wearing her yellow dress and looking over her as she lay in a crib._

 _Following another flash, the image changed to what looked like a laboratory. The perspective appeared to be someone some ways short of a meter tall and the medical bay the individual approached was far too tall to reach or climb up. Regardless, the child lept and the arms pulled them onto a medical bed, however the arms looked gray, metallic, stripped of skin and almost skeletal. When the view turned around, it revealed a Human doctor looking through a microscope. "Ah, Fredrick. Good to know you're here." For the two, it quickly became apparent that the two were viewing brief flashes of each other's memories._

 _Another flash appeared and revealed Liara looking on as what seemed to be her two parents arguing._

 _Another flash appeared to reveal Fredrick with his youthful squad of old._

 _Flash. Now it was Liara learning about archeology._

 _Flash. Now it was Fredrick shooting off a Batarian's head at point blank range._

 _Flash. Liara was at a desk overlooking notes._

 _Flash. Fredrick looking over medical notes in a ward with crazed Salarians._

 _Flash. Liara was talking to another student._

 _Flash. Fredrick was talking to Alice at a dinner table._

 _Flash. Liara was tinkering with a Prothean relic._

 _Flash. Fredrick was shooting Alice._

 _Flash. Liara looking on at her first shuttle to her first archeological dig._

 _Flash. Fredrick looking on at the_ Persistence _off the Citadel._

 _Flash. Liara looking at a damaged Prothean beacon in a mine._

 _Flash. Fredrick looking at a horde of the undead stumbling towards him in a mine._

 _With each flash, the two something different as time progressed, alternating back and forth between their identities and moments of happiness and pain. At the end of both, the two's minds cycled over one of Liara's more recent memories of Linda's horrifying vision. It started with a series of blurred images of the final moments of the Prothean Empire, synthetic tissue mingling with organic tissue, and flashes of various models of Harvesters. Towards the end, there was a zoom out showing a dying galaxy and a sun being eclipsed by a closer planet before showing the red outline of a Harvester._

-\

Fredrick woke gasping for air. He woke to find Liara stumbling backwards from his bedside. Like himself, she herself was staggering from the flash of images and surge of memories. After fifteen seconds of stumbling around, Liara was the first to speak. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

"I need something to drink," Fredrick interrupted as he got up and made his way out to the cafeteria.

Liara was still trying to comprehend all of Fredrick's memories and their vast contrast to her own. Underneath the worn white armor was a man riddled with unimaginable pain and sorrow. Perhaps it would be best to ask him later.

* * *

 **March 28, 2183**

 **12 hrs/58 min/03 sec**

 **Noveria, Pax System, Horse Head Nebula**

Fredrick, Garrus, Liara, Ashley, and Linda all stood in the decontamination chamber, preparing to enter the facility they'd landed at. As they exited, Liara caught Fredrick's attention as they exited and dragged behind the group for some minor privacy. "Excuse me, Fredrick? About last night, I just wanted to apologize and ask further about a few things."

"It's alright, Liara. It doesn't matter. I'm more worried about your own mental health, given I think we heavily exchanged memories. I'm not exactly sure you were prepared to see what I've seen," Fredrick responded. "But I would absolutely agree to answer any questions that you have."

As they caught up with the others, a trio of soldiers approached the group at an alarmingly aggressive approach. "That's close enough."

Shepard rolled her eyes. These guys were sure suicidal if they thought they were in any way capable of withstanding the firepower before them. "Relax, we're not here to cause trouble."

"This is an unscheduled arrival, I will need to see your credentials." The soldiers looked more like mercenaries than they did actual law enforcement.

"You first," Linda grinned.

"We're the law here, show some respect," the blond soldier to the Captain's right jabbed.

"I'm Captain Maeko Matsuo, Elanus Risk Control Services," the captain added.

"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance soldier and Council Specter," Linda finally answered.

"Load of horse shit, ma'am," the blond soldier responded.

"Just when was the last time you got off this miserable ice ball, woman?" Fredrick jabbed.

"We'll _confirm_ that. Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria. Sergeant Sterling, secure their weapons," the captain ordered.

Fredrick and the others swiftly drew their own weapons. "I'd prefer to have my guns, it helps in the line of work," Shepard responded.

"We could cooperate, depending on how fast they want to die," Fredrick added.

 _"Captain Matsuo, stand down! We've confirmed their identity, Specters and their respective coworkers are authorized to bare firearms on the premises,"_ a voice called over the intercom.

"Fine, you may proceed, commander. I hope the rest of your stay is less confrontational."

After entering the building and wading their way through security, the team met with a woman in a pink dress and black hair at the front desk. "I'm Gianna Parsini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. I apologize about the incident in the docking bay."

"We understand and we appreciate your help, I just hoped we could've gotten through without butting heads with security," Shepard said with a nod.

"You're welcome. The security officer was just doing her job. Anyways, my job is orientation of new arrivals, is there anything I can help you with?" Parsini further inquired.

"Well, for statrers, why the hell does such a small port pack so much security?" Linda asked as she crossed her arms.

"Protecting the interests of our corporate clienteles, just ignore it," Parsini dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"Hopefully your administrator won't mind if we tread over a few rules to accomplish our mission. It's important," Shepard continued.

"Careful, the board can and will bury you in enough paper work that you'd require an Asari lawyer to get through it. What brings a Specter here anyways?" she asked back for once.

"Has anyone… unusual passed through here within the last few months?" Linda asked as she glanced around for overhearing bystanders.

"There've been a vast array of oddball investors I've seen over the course of my career here, but I'd have to say the most outstanding was an Asari Matriarch. Her name was Lady Benezia I believe, arrived a few weeks ago."

"Benezia-? She's here? Is it possible to speak with her?" Liara butted in as she wove in front of the team to the front desk.

"Unfortunately, the facility she's currently staying at, Peak 15, has lost communications for a few days now. We can't get ahold of them due to the length of the storm. For now, the board says to ignore the case, until we can get over there and find out. If you are on your way to Peak 15, you'll have to speak with Anoleis for permission to leave the port. His office is to the left after you exit the elevator, you can't miss it. I've got a few assignments to get done for now. If you want any more questions answered, I'll be right at the front desk to his office," Parsini answered as she walked off.

"She's here, I can't believe it," Liara said as she uncomfortably looked away from the group.

"Don't worry Liara, we'll get this sorted soon enough," Fredrick reassured.

"Thank you, all of you. Being on this mission means a lot to me."

* * *

 **13 hrs/28 min/51 sec**

They'd only been only planet side for an hour and a half and they were already off to a bad start. After getting stonewalled by an especially stubborn Salarian, Parsini directed them to the manager of the local Synthetic Insights office, stating that he could help. The team entered another elevator to get into the facility hotel bar to approach a manager of Synthetic Insights on Noveria.

Making their way over to a table with a white marked Turian drinking alone, the man greeted them. "Afternoon! Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?" the Turian spoke up, all too excited. Perhaps it was due to how much alcohol he may have consumed by now, but due to biometrics, the Turian may have been a bit too happy.

Ignoring the Turian's cheerful mood, Linda asked, "Are you Lorik Qui'in? I heard you might be able to help me."

"What could an old Turian like me help you with, Commander?" Lorik inquired.

"I'm trying to find my way into the garage, I've got a mission to get done." Something about Lorik clearly rubbed Linda the wrong way and she wanted to get out of the man's sight quickly.

"You'll need a garage pass. How fortuitous. I was manager of the local Synthetic Insights office, but now Mr. Anoleis has my office closed. He's accusing me of corruption and is having the place searched, the little hypocrite. He's become *ahem* strangely wealthy since he's taken his position. Luckily for me, I managed to… how do you Humans say it? Get a little dirt on him and it is currently sitting in my office on an OSD. He knows about it and has sent his 'security force' to go in and find it," Lorik explained.

"And you want us to get it?" Linda asked.

"Precisely. It's sitting in the office on the upper floor on my personal computer. I suspect your goals lie outside of the facility, but Anoleis isn't simply going to let you wander. Get the evidence and I'll give you the pass you need and a handsome sum of credits for your troubles." Anoleis flicked his mandibles with satisfaction.

"Sounds fair enough. Anything else I should note on the way in?" Shepard asked as she shifted where she stood.

"Oh, nothing too much, here's my card for the elevator. He's hired members of Captain Matsuo's security detail to do the dirty work for him, and of course the poor captain is all so in the dark abut just what is happening under her nose. Some violence may be required, but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle. Not with the Wolf anyways. Just please get as little blood on the carpets as you can, I just had those things laundered."

"I'll be on my way over there. I'll be back shortly." Linda and the others turned away from the table and made their way over to Lorik's office. As the team walked back out into the open, Fredrick took a nice long glance out the window into the snowdrifts. Suddenly, his vision flashes _to reveal the dusty landscape of the undeveloped Khonsu just outside of Delta Station._

"Pretty, isn't it?" Ashley asked.

"Indeed," Fredrick said as they made their way into the hallway leading to the office. After yet another elevator ride, more officers wearing the same uniform as the security detail that met them at the docks approached the team.

"Freeze! Hanshan Security! This office is closed, you shouldn't even be here," a Human officer ordered.

"If I've been informed correctly, neither should you. Anyways, Lorik Qui'in gave us a pass in," Shepard explained, flashing the card in front of the Guard's eyes.

"Qui'in? You're working for him? He's currently under investigation for corruption," the officer explained.

"You're on Anoleis' pay grade. Does Captain Matsuo even know you're here? We could head back out and inform her if that's what you're asking," Linda said smugly as she began to make steps towards the door.

"Hey, we couldn't care less about Qui'in, it's Anoleis who's up in his grill about it. So how about this, you didn't see us, and we didn't see you." The soldier and her colleague swiftly walked out.

"So, how quickly do you think you could take these other guys out?" Ashley asked Fredrick.

"The three on this floor I can flatten in five seconds flat. You guys can go up stairs and get that OSD while I' cover the entrance." As the four others made their way up the stairs, Fredrick charged the first unfortunate soldier that came into sight. Grabbing the helmet, he flung the man against the wall like a ragdoll, snapping their neck. Sharply turning around, he released a concentrated barrage of fire on a soldier's helmet, piercing through in an instant. With his particle knife, he flung it at the last soldier, sticking it in her throat before using his biotics to hack a large gash in their jugular, spilling a spray of blood on the floor as they fell back. There was no carpet on the first floor, so Lorik would probably not mind the mess.

Dragging the bodies into a pile, he proceeded to wait by the door while the others returned with the OSD. As he cleaned his knife, the door opening drew his attention, revealing the blond soldier from earlier followed by four other soldiers. "I don't think you're supposed to be in here, Wolf."

Fredrick didn't bother to so much as stand up straight before returning, "Sorry, who the fuck are you and what allows you to be in here over me?"

"You think you're funny, funny man? I'm Kiara Sterling, Elanus Risk Control Services." Eyeing the blood coating his gauntlets, she continued, "Anoleis would have you thrown offworld what you did. I won't. Do you know what we did to cop killers on my world?"

Fredrick simply chuckled. "That's cute, you really haven't been off this rock for a while. You're a smart little girl Sterling, so why don't you take a long good stare at the remains of your colleagues and ask yourself whether I really am worth your trouble."

"Yeah, well I don't need a gun to rip you to pieces," Sterling simply retorted.

"Neither do I." Faster than any of the soldiers could fix their sights on Fredrick, he lept forward and slaughtered the group. He initially crushed the head of one under his boot before grabbing onto another's arm, tearing it from the socket, and smacking Sterling across the room. Knocking the other two to the floor, he first cut open one with his knife and used the small intestine as a garrote for the last soldier. As he noticed the other four returning from Lorik's office, he opted to simply snap the last man's neck instead. "Area secured," he simply reported.

"Jesus, I overheard the conversation and I can confirm she was a bitch, but she was still a sentient being," Ashley commented.

"She talked too much. It got on my nerves," Fredrick answered.

The team began their way back to the bar when Parsini met them outside of the office elevator. "There've been reports of noise from the Synthetic Insights office. Would you know anything about the source?" Everyone simply eyed Fredrick, causing him to silently throw up his arms in sarcastic surrender. "I see. Well, I'll be over at the hotel. Meet me before you talk with Lorik Qui'in." She promptly turned around to disperse the guards approaching to investigate the noises that Fredrick had caused.

The five returned to the hotel, drawing attention along the way as Fredrick treaded blood as he walked along. After entering, they waited silently for Parsini's arrival for ten minutes before speaking. "So, what exactly happened?" Garrus asked.

"More of Anoleis' grunts came in for a chat. Shit hit the fan faster than they anticipated. Let's just leave it at that," Fredrick answered.

"You do realize everyone is now on edge after you brutalized those guards, right?" Linda asked.

"They were corrupt officers getting what they deserved. Or should I have spared them for a couple decades of lock up? Besides, this is corporate turf where the head honchos couldn't care less what happened to their underlings," Fredrick returned.

Catching up, Parsini walked up to them and said, "I had the mess cleaned up in Lorik's office. Anyways, allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Gianna Parsini, Noveria Internal Affairs. I'm a white-collar cop of sorts, and I've been investigating Anoleis' corruption for six months now. The Board of Executives knows of his corruption and wanted me to pick up evidence to convict, but haven't been able to get anything until Lorik's findings came up. I want you to convince Lorik to testify before the Board. Get this done right, and I'll get you that pass to the garage. Scratch my back, I scratch yours."

"It's for the best, Shepard. I wouldn't let that rat get away any further, but I doubt the board would listen if I put a bolt through his gray matter," Fredrick encouraged.

"Alright, fair enough. Can't be that hard," Linda responded.

* * *

 **13 hrs/54 min/36 sec**

"About damn time. That took longer than it should've," Ashley commented.

"Alright people, helmets on and find a vehicle to get up there. Reports are that they had a security breach right before a storm hit, so be ready for anything," Linda ordered.

"Understood Li- did you guys hear that?" Garrus asked.

Fredrick's eyes scanned the room, eyeing the empty chamber for movement. Suddenly, his eyes snapped onto a Geth stalker latching onto a wall above them, prompting him to snap his rifle out and shoot on sight. "Look out! Hostiles!"

Four more stalkers and two destroyers came out of their hiding spots and opened fire at the team, prompting Liara to protect the team with a barrier, Fredrick and Ashley to focus fire on the destroyers, and Linda and Garrus to pick off the stalkers. As Garrus finished off the last one, a team of the Noverian security team entered. "Wha- what are those things? Fan out! No one gets in or out!" Captain Matsuo ordered. "That the hell did you do here, commander?"

"Compensating for your faulty security, captain," Fredrick spat. "Next time, I suggest taking a deeper look before stupidly letting Geth get past your scanners. Matriarch Benezia must've brought them along and deployed them when she came through the station."

"I don't believe it. We scanned those things thoroughly, no eezo masses, no power signatures… if Benezia's crates were packed with those things, God knows how many more are out there…" Matsuo said with utter shock.

"Relax, shooting shit is our specialty. Now onto Peak 15… Not. Fucking. Again," Fredrick stuttered as his eyes landed on the only available vehicle in the garage: another unmodified M35 Mako.

* * *

 **14 hrs/13 min/40 sec**

"By the Goddess! Slow down! We'll slide off the edge!" Liara cried.

"At least stop before I fire so I can get a clear shot of those turrets, Skipper!" Ashley yelled.

"Are you insane?" Garrus bickered.

"I knew we should've taken the Grizzley, not nearly as top-heavy," Fredrick commented.

"Relax, we're almost there. Stop your bitching guys," Shepard chastised. After another fifteen minutes of precarious driving over slick icy ledges, the team drove to the face of Peak 15, a facility that had clearly seen better days. Quickly dashing inside and out of the cold, the team encountered a Geth juggernaut, three Krogan, and a repair drone. Once again making swift work of the opposition, the team made their way to the catwalk out of the hanger as a VI announced the system failures.

"God dammit. Everything's broken," Ashley added after the long list of malfunctioning systems.

They entered the security chamber leaving the hanger area to see the sanitization room had two turrets facing inward. "I don't understand. Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?" Liara asked.

"Frankly, I'm more concerned as to what they're trying to keep in instead of keep out," Fredrick added. Exiting decontamination and entering the front lobby, the team advanced upon another squad of normal Geth soldiers and shock troopers. As silence once more returned to the air around them, the metallic groan of banging and mending metal filled the air.

"Movement, it's coming from the vents," Garrus alerted as he looked around the room, scanning with his visor.

"Doesn't matter, whatever was locked up here, we'll shoot like anythi-" Fredrick encouraged before being interrupted by a shriek he hadn't heard in a long time. There were still pockets back in the Nile System, but he hadn't expected to find them so far away from home. "Fuck! Shrimp! Watch out for their acid!" The crustacean monstrosities came crawling out of the ventilations shafts in the labs ahead of them and broke through the observation windows.

"Damn, I didn't expect this mission to become a bug hunt. Friends of yours, Fredrick?" Ashley asked as they defeated the first wave of the critters.

"Spent my first space-faring days clearing entire nests of Shrimp back in the Nile System. Ugly as fuck, but they go very nicely with beer," Fredrick explained.

* * *

 **14 hrs/40 min/10 sec**

"Doesn't look too bad. Question is: where is everyone?" Linda noted. At the other side of the tram rail, the structural damage wasn't nearly as bad, but the general lack of survivors was troubling.

"Perhaps they're huddled on a different level. This area isn't too defendable, too many ventilation shafts to enter from. Besides, looks like most of the doors have been sealed due to the lockdown," Fredrick pointed out.

"Is there any advice you'd give if we're going to dive head first into a nest of these things?" Liara asked.

"I'm pretty sure you guys already know the basics. Fingers on your triggers, heads on a swivel, and don't stop shooting until they're all dead." The team entered a room just immediately outside of the train station with two elevators, one still locked. Riding the elevator up, the team exited to be greeted by a small squad of scared soldiers.

"Stand down, they're friendlies," the captain ordered. "Sorry, we couldn't be sure of what was on the tram."

"Can those things work a train's controls?" Shepard asked.

"Sorry I forgot to mention earlier, guys. The Shrimp are incredibly intelligent. If you leave them exposed to bits of tech for long enough, they can and will become adapted to its use," Fredrick added.

"We found that out the hard way. Look, you're Human and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd at least like to know who you are," the captain commented.

"My name is Shepard, and I'm a Specter. This is my crew," Linda answered.

The captain simply shrugged before saying, "Huh, I won't look an armed horse in the mouth. The aliens overran the hot labs about a week ago. Only Han Olar got out and barely. First thing we knew, the bastards began to crawl into my command post. We had a lot more staff then."

"Well, you had civies on the line and you did what you could under the circumstances, Captain," Linda assured.

"Yeah? Sure as hell doesn't feel like it. The Board sent an Asari to clean up the mess. She went down to the labs a couple of days ago and hasn't been back since. If you are here to help stop these things, there's an emergency elevator by the tram that goes down to the hot labs. This card will get you in," the captain said before handing Linda a security card. "If you need any medical assistance before you ship out, Dr. Cohen is just down stairs in the med bay."

"Any idea where the Shrimp came from? Did they escape from the lab or did they break in from outside?" Fredrick asked.

"Well, whatever the hell you call them, I'm almost inclined to say the former. Labs like that have the sole purpose of getting people stupidly killed," the captain answered. "Look, I don't know much about the research here. All I've been told is to keep the personnel safe. Right now, we're all on shifts and stims and there's nothing I can do about the lab. Simply put, I'm not risking any more men to investigate. The Asari headed down there, and God knows what's happened to her."

"Come on, guys. We've got work to do," Linda ordered.

"You and me bo-" the captain said before he was interrupted by a number of screeching noises. "Ah hell! Man the perimeter!"

* * *

 **15 hrs/07 min/20 sec**

To say that the situation was bad was putting it very lightly. The few scientists that had survived were either injured due to other lab accidents during the outbreak or unarmed and scared out of their wits. From visiting the aforementioned doctor, the found the secondary lab accident was equally dire if not more so. Swiftly returning to get permission from the captain to head down to the lab, the team rode the elevator deeper into the facility depths. Exiting into the doctor's bunks, they encountered Olar, sitting quietly on his bunk.

"You've come to find out about them *wheeze*, haven't you?" Olar asked.

"You mean the… Shrimp you called them?" Linda returned as she gave Fredrick a look.

"Yes. *wheeze* I am the sole survivor of the hot labs *wheeze*," Han answered.

"How'd you get out?" Shepard asked.

"With some sacrifice *wheeze* of my own dignity. I was off to lunch with *wheeze* Dr. Mon Zhua when the lab alarms went off *wheeze*. They were close behind, so I ran to the tram *wheeze* and shut the doors behind me," he answered, weighed down by guilt. "She banged on the window *wheeze* a few times before they dragged her off *wheeze*. They tore her apart like rabid Varren *wheeze*."

"Shrimp are ruthless creatures, at least you survived to get word out about the initial outbreak," Fredrick stated.

"You know of the Rachni as well?" Han asked.

"Rachni? Those things are Rachni?" Garrus asked with shock.

"I thought those things were extinct after the Rachni Wars. Besides the few clusters within the Nile System that Fredrick here has encountered," Linda prompted.

"*Wheeze* we found an egg on a derelict ship *wheeze* and brought it here," Han explained.

"Anyways, time's running out, we've got to get moving," Linda bid farewell before they approached another lab entrance. Using the clearance they got from the captain earlier, they proceeded to enter to fetch the cure for the aliment affecting a few of the scientists. After some clumsy handiwork, repeated mistakes, and trying desperately to figure out the meaning of several notes, the team was successful in developing the treatment only to be greeted by an Asari scientist, an Asari commando, and a few Geth.

"Your mission ends here, Shepard," the scientist started.

"Yes, just as I suspected," Fredrick spat.

"I presume you had access," Shepard asked.

"No, the guard got in my way. I was ordered to eliminate you should the opportunity come, and here you are, trapped in this lab," the scientist retorted sadistically.

"I'm not trapped in a laboratory full of Geth and Asari commandos, you're all trapped in here with me," Fredrick said as he once again leveled his pistol with the opponent's head and fired, followed by Liara flinging objects from around the room to disorient the remaining Geth and Asari. After warding off the other hostiles, the team exited to find the guard with a gapping hole in his faceplates, oozing blue blood onto the floor.

"Damn, poor bastard didn't last a second," Garrus commented.

Han Olar waddled over to them saying, "They came from over there, just beyond the bunks. The door is usually locked."

"Thanks, we'll check it out as soon as we can. Right now we've got to get this treatment back to Dr. Cohen," Linda returned.

As they came through the medbay doors, Dr. Cohen was over the moon with relief. "Is that the cure? You did it?"

"We did. That Asari scientist from upstairs assaulted us on the way out, but she wasn't too much trouble. You know anything about her?" Ashley asked.

"Alestia? That- I just don't know. Well, not much more than you do. She arrived here a month ago, one of the shareholders pulled a few strings to get her in. Other than that, I wouldn't know a thing. I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful and provide a name," Cohen answered.

"No need to worry, Dr. Cohen, we've got the general idea. But right now, we need to gain access to a storage area she just brought a pack of Geth through if we're going to get to the bottom of this," Garrus interrupted.

"Alright, listen, the guards have been more on edge since you arrived. From what I've heard, they've been expecting you for some time now. There's an area in back that they won't let me into, only people with 'clearance.' However, there is an alternative down by the scientists' bunks, a storage area, though there's not much else there but snow. Here's my pass, hopefully it should get you in. Good luck out there, now could I have that phial?" Cohen explained. After being handed the phial from Shepard, he observed it for a moment before muttering, "An extension of Phelp's work? I knew he was on the right track! I can't thank you… oh God, how cliché. I'm sorry there's no other way I can repay you."

"We have everything we need. Right now, we just need to clear out the last of the Rachni and get back there to find out what's happening in the hot labs."

* * *

 **15 hrs/38 min/27 sec**

As they entered, the storage hallway poured into a massive laboratory with a caged gigantic Rachni in the corner with a few balconies and catwalks riddling the place. Benezia's familiar voice spoke to them as they entered. "You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. To turn it towards happiness or despair," she said blankly. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies. I won't be moved by sympathy, regardless of who you bring on this confrontation."

 _"What has a woman like you done to deserve such a horrid fate?"_ Fredrick thought as his implants began to scan Benezia.

"Liara is here by her own choice," Linda returned.

"Indeed? What have you told them about me, Liara?" Benezia asked.

"What could I say, mother? That you are insane? That whatever path you've taken in our fifty years of separation have has leaded you to a darker place? Or should I have taken the time to meticulously describe every facet of your weaknesses?" Liara spat.

"Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few Humans have," Benezia retorted.

"You'd know if that bit of history wasn't off the record," Fredrick returned.

"No mercy for your daughter. Why am I not surprised?" Linda mocked.

"I should've been more strict with you Liara. You'd understand better," Benezia said before putting the team under a stasis effect before the room quickly became swarmed with Asari commandos and Geth snipers. Benezia retreated and protected herself with a barrier. As the stasis effects wore off, Fredrick quickly threw up a barrier of his own and injected himself with an overclock stim. He needed to keep his friends safe for at least the few first waves until they could gain some momentum and Garrus could deal with the Geth snipers. As he dropped the barrier and made his advance on a group of snipers, a grenade bounced at his feet, causing him to blindly toss it away from himself and the others, only hearing it explode distantly. Continuously running around the lab like madmen, each and every one of Shepard's team charged clusters of Geth snipers or killed the commandos with either their own weapons or poorly placed lab equipment.

"Perimeter's clear, Skipper," Ashley reported.

"Scoped that one," Garrus said, picking off the last sniper.

"Hold up, I'm patching Liara," Fredrick reported.

"Good work guys, lets get to the Matriarch. Get some answer… Uh oh," Shepard said with a minor stumble when she came into view of Benezia. She was now laid back on the balcony railing, and bleeding profusely from the grenade Fredrick had tossed aside earlier. The state of her health was only made worse by the fact she was a level five infected.

Coughing purple blood and clutching onto her injured torso, Benezia spoke gravely, "This isn't over. Saren will not be stopped. The world is clear and my mind is filled with his light."

"She's a level five infected, Shepard. She doesn't have the faintest idea what is going on. Orders?" Fredrick asked.

"It's Liara's choice, not mine," Linda said.

"Whatever it is you think you can get from me, I will not betray Saren. You will you-." Benezia took a few moments to get some breaths of air. "Listen, Saren's will still has a grasp on my mind, but I can resist with my remaining strength and the pieces of my consciousness I've kept preserved. I don't know of the full extent of the damage, but the indoctrination is strong."

"You don't have much longer Matriach Benezia. I'm sorry," Fredrick stated simply.

"I'm sorry, please know it is in my desire to show you harm. People no longer themselves around Saren. Swiftly, people's minds bend to the will of Saren," Benezia told them.

"It's his flagship, Sovereign I think. It's part of a species called the Reapers, entities that have been wiping civilization after civilization from this galaxy," Shepard explained.

"Yes, I came to his aid thinking I could guide him down a gentler path. When I finally became a slave to Saren's word, I finally understood what took me till too late to comprehend. I'm not sure where he found it, but it is most certainly not of Geth construction. The technology is far beyond anything the Geth could've produced or any other know species, even the Protheans," Benezia answered.

"Benezia, I need to relax. Your exposure to Sovereign has caused extensive damage to your brain. I'm not sure if I can even revert the damage at this point," Fredrick said. "The malformations caused to your brain are to make sure you stay obedient."

"Please listen, I don't have much longer. He sent me here to withdraw the information concerning the location of the Mu Relay from the Rachni queen. Its location had been lost long ago, and I melded with her mind to withdraw the information. Unfortunately, I've already passed the information along to Saren, but I still have a copy of the coordinates on this OSD," Benezia begged as she shakily handed Shepard the OSD.

"How'd the queen know?" Fredrick asked.

"The Rachni are capable of sharing information across generations. Anyways, I have no idea which system he plans to travel to once he enters the Mu Relay. I-" Benezia took another series of sharp breaths. "My time has run out. I didn't know. I'm so sorry, forgive me Liara. You always made me proud," she said as she closed her eyes as she gritted her teeth with pain.

Liara stumbled for a moment at the sound of her mother's desperate words. "Mother, please…" she said as tears began to fill her eyes.

 _"I'm sorry as well, Lady Benezia. You are truly undeserving of such a horrid fate. May whatever overseeing entities out there have mercy on you,"_ Fredrick thought. He began to reach for his pistol when his fingers suddenly closed onto nothing but cold, dead air.

Benezia's eyes shot open and she raised her right hand to gather strength for a warp. Contorted with pain and hatred, she screamed "DIE!" one last time before a charred black hole was formed in her forehead. The team turned their gaze to see Liara, having quietly drawn Fredrick's pistol to deliver the killing blow on her accord. She simply stood there, face filled with dread and barely making a move.

Fredrick, completely diverting his attention towards Liara, pulled the pistol from her hands, sat her down on the ground, and tried to speak to her. "Liara, you're going to be okay, just sit down and focus on me." He continued to ignore the rest of the team trying to snap Liara out of her traumatic trance. He finally lifted his head to see the others when he heard a sharp sound like wind over an open field.

"This one serves as our voice. We cannot sing in these low spaces. Your music is colorless," an Asari commando spoke. She was coated in blood and clearly dead, but the Rachni queen had telepathically rigged the corpse of the commando like a puppet.

"This was most definitely not covered in the protocol manual," Garrus said.

"Your form of communication is banal, colorless, and repetitive. Our voice is like a symphony, each supporting the other to form a piece of art. We still sing for those left behind, those silenced, and those still in the present. We sing through thoughts, we can tug at the strings of those who are weak and those who are willing. This one is in the twilight of her life. Her music depicts more in death than in life. It is bittersweet but beautiful. The children we birthed were taken from us by the needlemen before we could teach them the ways of our music, and are subsequently mute and ignorant. They're lost, please end their suffering, for they will never truly understand. Elders have more readily become accustomed to silence, but children will become lost and fearful should no one sing to them. Please understand," the Queen told them.

"Oh I understand, and I'll do more as well," Fredrick started as he rose to his feet, taking note of the hazard signs on top of the holding pen. "I've fought these things longer than any one should in their life time, and I will not be taking more time out of my life to deal with these fucking pests. Commander, those tanks on top of the cage contain Omega-06, and the controls will reduce this bug to a fine paste," Fredrick said, gesturing to a monitor facing the Queen's cage.

"I will _not_ be held accountable for genocide. They may be bugs, but they are by all definitions sentient beings, Fredrick," Linda chastised.

"Will you truly allow us to sing? Do you really believe we shouldn't return to silence? We know of the mistakes of our ancestors, and we do not seek to repeat them," the Asari corpse asked.

"Linda, this is a big mistake," Garrus said with concern. "I've read my history and I can assure you Müller has a right to be concerned."

"I'm a soldier, but I'm not a god damn killer," Linda said as she hit the 'release' button on the control panel, blatantly ignoring Garrus and Fredrick's pleas.

As the team watched the pen be lifted away to an exit point for the queen to escape to and the commando crumple to the floor one last time, Fredrick gave a surrendering gesture saying, "Fine, let her go. But don't try to argue with me if I have to ship off to clean the mess you allowed to gestate, Shepard."

* * *

 **16 hrs/02 min/30 sec**

"Didn't even break a sweat," Fredrick told himself as he dashed back into the elevator. While Shepard took the others to start moving them to the tram system, he opted to initiate the neutron purge in the hot labs, ridding the facility of any remaining Rachni soldiers. After getting a further explanation to the outbreak and access to the purge controls, the Rachni began to swarm the room leading back to the elevator. Simply initiating his nanite shield, he ran like a madman back to the elevator as claws, blobs of acid, and workers bounced harmlessly off the black crystal layer. As the doors closed behind him and the elevator lifted out of the pit, he heard a surge of energy and fire below followed by the screams of the creatures below. "Take that, you fucking Shrimp," he muttered as the elevator returned to the tram station.

Walking out to greet the other, he noticed a lack of other security personnel. "I clearly remember there being more survivors that this, guys."

"They had remaining orders from Benezia, and weren't willing to listen," Ashley quickly explained as the surviving lab workers grouped onto the train.

"Yeah, it was a shame. By the way, when we get back to the Normandy, see to it that Liara recovers. She doesn't seem to be doing very well," Linda ordered. Liara had become incredibly silent, distracted, and pale looking after her final confrontation with her mother. She hadn't even requested retrieving her mother's body.

* * *

 **19 hrs/45 min/25 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **medbay, en route to the Voyager Cluster**

"I'm fine, go away! I'm trying to get some sleep!" Liara yelled through the door.

"Liara, please listen! This is important!" Fredrick yelled back.

"There's nothing wrong! I'm an adult and I can deal with the stress of the work place! I'm only a few decades younger than you are!" Liara countered.

As he pulled off his helmet, he explained, "Liara, just listen. Killing infected is beyond just another killing. When you look into the eyes of that victim and realize just what they are suffering, it reverts into a case of euthanasia, but much worse. At least when a loved one or friend has been diagnosed with a chronic untreatable illness, they know that they are suffering and know they'll find peace when they move on. Infected are different, they don't know. They're stuck in a world that they'll only interpret as normal and don't know they are only harming the people _they_ care for in their actions. They'll fight you every step along the way and they will only hurt you back because their mind has been rewritten to interpret their life as willing slaves as the new reality. With this in mind, it's understandable that you're going through some mental hardships right now, and it will only harm you in the long run to keep these sorts of emotions bottled up." Fredrick knew all too well this pain, and regretted letting it boil.

There was a long pause with no response on Liara's part. Before Fredrick could respond, the door swung open and she latched onto his armor, letting here eyes release the fountain of tears she'd held back for three hours. Fredrick turned to see Shepard entering the medbay to check on the situation.

"She'll need some time along before she's ready to talk again," Fredrick said over Liara's wails. Without another word, Linda turned around and left the two.

* * *

(P.S.): Wow, over 9000 words (actually almost). Overcompensation at its finest. But seriously, this is making up for over a week and a half of nothing. I've got a bit of pacing I'd like to cover before the start of the next school year. I enjoy writing this, but it's really rubbing up against other school shit, so please forgive me.


	8. Chapter 8: Both Sides of the Coin

(A/N): Okay, the worst is mostly behind me now, but things may still take a while. I hope things are going well in my series. Do remember to give me feedback about how this is turning out. Also, Andromeda is out a month from now! Hopefully it addresses all the past issues through the series.

Chapter 8: Both Sides of the Coin

 _Even the weeks after dealing with Kyle caught everyone off guard, myself included. I hadn't anticipated the pain this mission would bring me, or at least the mental scaring. Benezia's death hit me as hard as it did Liara, not just because of the cost this was has towards innocents, but also how that present moment also reflected the past and the future. How am I to continue if I cannot bare the pain of bidding farewell to those I care because the Harvesters have consumed them?_

* * *

 **April 02, 2183**

 **15 hrs/17 min/28 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_

 _"Son of a bitch, now they really are putting pressure on. Whatever the original intentions were, no one deserves such a fate,"_ Fredrick thought to himself as he returned to the medbay. He and the team had just left the Maroon Sea, to investigate logs found on Feros in the ExoGeni HQ. Along with an ExoGeni lab overrun by Thorian Creepers, they found a "derelict" ship and an "abandoned" colony in the middle of nowhere. The crew had picked up a Harvester artifact and were subsequently infected. In their mindless state, they wandered into Geth territory and were transformed into formless undead. Similarly, the abandoned colony had some minor ties to Cerberus and were sent a sample to study. One thing led to another and infected broke loose, killing everyone inside and recycling their bodies for more biomass.

Linda entered the medbay and walked up to him for another conversation. Funny to think that she still though he might have something new to say today. "Hey doc, is Liara doing better?" she greeted.

"Yes, she is. But, I wouldn't recommend approaching her about it just yet, she still treats the topic rather fragilely," Fredrick answered.

"I see. Do you have any idea towards the creation of the husks?" Linda asked further. Sensibly, she'd want to know more if they were facing the monstrosities on a constant basis.

"From what we can tell, the spikes are to allow easy access to the internal organs and the nervous system simultaneously. The Harvesters then use their own tissue to mutate the organic tissue into a synthetic-organic mesh, repurpose the internal organs for whatever they can use them for, and rework the nervous system. As for long-term exposure to Harvester artifacts, we don't know. We're not willing to perform the risks necessary to study the transformations people undergo during level six infections. Additionally, such artifacts give us little insight to the Harvesters and their operations, so we usually sabotage them before anyone else get's hurt," Fredrick explained.

"You mean there is no way to help them? I mean the Husks?" Linda inquired further.

"Think of the Husks as actual zombies. Once a person is dead, you can't just resurrect them and reverse all of the decay that's happened to them," Fredrick finished.

* * *

 **April 09, 2183**

 **12 hrs/04 min/02 sec**

 **MSV** _ **Fedele**_ **, Herschel System, Kepler Verge**

"I'm getting movement, stay sharp," Fredrick said, as he eyed his built-in radar system.

"So, what are your plans exactly once we get this guy?" Kaidan asked.

"Shoot him. What else?" Garrus answered simply.

"Exactly, put the bastard in his place," Fredrick encouraged.

"Guys," Linda started with concern.

"What, Linda? Across the board, he's violated Hierarchy, Asari Republic, and Citadel laws, and the damage he's caused easily earns him the death warrant," Garrus returned, brimming with hate.

"He's right. Terran law even dictates that such action of violating the trust of your patient and/or customers is a serious offense. You'd be lucky if you just had jail time and were stripped of your medical license," Fredrick added.

"I'm starting to agree with them, commander," Kaidan butted in. "They've all got very valid points, and I'd give whomever used me as a living test-tube hell."

"Okay, know what? Depends on just how willing he is to surrender," Linda bickered as the team entered the main body of the freighter.

Kaidan responded, "The fact he's still in business suggests-." Kaidan was cut short by the sight of what remained of an Asari. She now had fleshy tendrils growing out of her back, waving like each had a mind of its own, a bloated stomach glowing with its presumably caustic contents, and her jaw had double in sized and decayed over the course of her transformation. She made what sounded like the cross between a hungry growl and the whine of a bird before Fredrick proceeded to shoot the monster, causing it to seep acidic fluid onto the floor. "That is the scariest fucking thing I've ever seen in my entire life," Kaidan continued after a few seconds pause.

"You'll get used to it, now let's get going," Fredrick comforted. The journey through the rest of the ship was no easy feat either, as they crossed a haphazard laboratory. The variants of mutated seemed very reminiscent of B-movie horror flicks Fredrick had watched for leisure as a child and teenager. Krogan having been turned into crab-like creatures that would attempt to ram into them, Salarians grown long tongues and would use them to rope up victims, a Turian who stalked them on hind legs and would pounce large distances, and some former Human mercenary who'd been turned into a gorilla like creature holding nothing more than pent-up rage.

"Alright, I'm in total agreement with Garrus, this bastard has to die," Kaidan admitted as he threw the mutated Turian against the wall with a fatal 'crack!'

"Keep looking, he's got to be close," Garrus said at the bridge-side of the ship. Looking through the medbay and bridge, they turned their attention towards the main quarters, now renovated as another laboratory and personal quarters.

The lone Salarian doctor in the middle of the room greeted them, "Thank you from saving me from those things. When they broke out and killed my crew, I was certain I was done-for."

The three men didn't holster their weapons and only leveled them with Dr. 'Heart.' Garrus threatened, "We're not here for your own survival, Dr. Saleon. We're here to see that you pay for your crimes."

Dr. Saleon didn't do a very good job of hiding his guilt. "What? My name is Heart, Dr. Heart! Please, you have to get me out of here!"

"Are you guys even sure that's even Dr. Saleon, guys?" Linda asked, palming her face in exasperation.

"Garrus gave a very good account of the doctor before we came aboard, Shepard. We know who he is," Kaidan answered. Before the team entered, away from Linda's immediate attention, Garrus had presented the other two with images of Saleon he'd captured before he fled the Citadel.

"We've got an organ harvester of our own, Saleon. Tell him yourself which organ you'd like to have 'harvested' first," Garrus added, prompting Fredrick to holster his rifle and make steps towards the tiny Salarian.

"For FUCK'S SAKE, GUYS! I want to drop him off with the Citadel authorities to be properly tried!" Shepard screamed with intensified anger, causing Fredrick to stop in his tracks.

"Linda, I can assure you this man is guilty of every account of cold-blooded murder I've told you about! I was the officer who actually took time to research this animal!" Garrus argued back. Linda and Garrus continued to argue back and forth between each other concerning Saleon's fate.

Fredrick sighed as he pulled out his own pistol and began to tinker with it, zoning out the noise of the others. _"Like an old married couple,"_ he thought to himself. Making sure the device still worked, he turned around to face the Salarian, quickly leveled the pistol and fired. Turning back to the other three, the sound of the shot had caught their attention. As he proceeded to walk out of the room, he sternly told Linda and Garrus, "Get a room, you two. The universe and I don't have the same patience you do, so I'd advise you to make swifter decisions."

* * *

 **16 hrs/05 min/49 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **hanger area**

Garrus returned to the ship fuming. How dare Linda deny him carrying out justice against a man who wronged so many and deserved every horrid fate the galaxy could offer. How dare she feel it necessary that the man be given a fair trial when he would clearly learn nothing from incarceration, hefty fines, or whatever cruel and unusual punishments would justly fit the crime. The return to the ship was silent, and Linda was desperately trying to convince Garrus that the choice they made aboard the _Fedele_ was appropriate.

As Fredrick put his particle rifle back into his locker, he overheard the arguing between each other for a bit before returning to the elevator to return to the second level. He was in no mood to listen and wanted to get himself a beer from the ship cafeteria. He sat down next to Liara and Kaidan and pried off the cap off the bottle with is teeth. He started drinking and sinking into his own thoughts when Linda and Garrus came up through the main area.

"Well, regardless of what happened and how you feel, thanks Linda. I really appreciate the help you provided," Garrus continued from where the two had left off before they came into earshot.

"Ah- um… any time, Garrus. You're… my friend, and I do well to help my friends in need. Why else do you think I helped with Wrex's family armor?" Linda started with some light stuttering.

While it was nice to know that the two were making amends, even if it had been rather swift, it was still an interesting friendship that had been developing between the two figures. Fredrick had noticed Linda and Garrus' growing friendship over the course of the mission to stop Saren and Sovereign. For the most part, he ignored the friendly banter between the two on the missions that Garrus frequently went on and continued to focus on the hostiles at the end of his sights. All things considered, the friendship stemmed from his initial surprise concerning Linda's friendly behavior towards other species. Her father was killed in the conclusion of the First Contact conflict, and had in no way become accommodated to a multi-species society in the Earthly slums, he figured that she'd hold some grudge against Turians in general. Perhaps it was a figment of her past and that she'd long since grown past any sort of discrimination as she later enlisted in the Alliance Marine Corps.

He couldn't help but glance back at the jealous looks of Liara and Kaidan as they followed Fredrick's gaze. The two had went to hell and back to gain Linda's affection whether it be covering her in combat, talking between missions on the ship, or gaining her attention on shore leave. Time and time again, she'd shot the two down, saying she only recognized them as teammates or friends. He wouldn't go so far as to rub salt in their wounds, but he found the love "pyramid" to be a hilarious scenario to consider among the four squadmates.

The best part of it was how Linda and Garrus seemed somewhat oblivious to the emotions of the other. He wasn't going to give specifics, but based upon the two's biometrics, the two were putting off an interesting mix of hormones when talking with each other.

* * *

 **May 13, 2183**

 **13 hrs/04 min/15 sec**

 **Solcrum, Grissom System, Armstrong Cluster**

"Tali, how long have the Geth been active like this?" Linda asked as the team exited the Geth HQ.

"Does it matter?" Wrex asked. "They're hostile, so we're hostile back."

"Wrex, that's not the point," Fredrick returned. "I know it's because they're under the controls of Sovereign, but we feel we could benefit from this if we brought it up with the council. It's already troubling they've effectively managed to set up base even beyond our awareness is a cause for concern, much less this far away from the Perseus Veil. Anything that could give us a leg up on the Harvesters is something we should take advantage of."

"You have a rather liberal definition of 'leverage.' Still, you are correct," Tali stated. "I'm sorry I can't provide any additional insight, but this behavior is most definitely odd. From the studies we've managed to accumulate concerning the Geth movements, they've been only focused on their own defenses rather than some offensive towards expanding their territory."

"Fine. But I doubt that'll change the mind of those stubborn Pyja… uh, Fred? Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Wrex paused as he looked to the side. Fredrick followed Wrex's gaze to see a blip in the distance, peeking over the hill.

"Hold on. Shepard, give me your tactical binoculars for a moment please?" he asked Linda. Handing her the device strapped to her belt, Fredrick put them up to his helmet visor and looked. As he zoomed in, he got a better look to see what clearly was the top of a Geth unit, simply standing there and watching. "It's a lone Geth, it's just standing there and watching. It doesn't even have a weapon drawn."

"Give them to me you lying Bosh'tet," Tali demanded before taking the binoculars up to her own eyes. "Huh, no kidding. Just standing there."

Wrex, opening the back hatch of the Mako said, "Keep an eye on it. It's probably relaying information about our location."

"Too late, Wrex. It's gone," Tali said as the Geth unit turned around and initiated its cloaking device. "It wouldn't be too far fetched to say it was spying on us. Infiltration units are built in with cloaking devices."

"Infiltration units?" Fredrick asked. "Shit, let's get back to the _Normandy_. I'm not getting picked off out here by Geth sharpshooters."

* * *

 **May 05, 2183**

 **09 hrs/30 min/53 sec**

 **Cerberus Lab, Binthu, YangTze System, Voyager Cluster**

"Shit, they got at the admiral. Poor bastard deserved better than being lab rat feed," Fredrick commented as he approached the admiral's mutilated corpse. Rachni warriors were consuming the poor man when the team arrived.

"I thought Cerberus was supposed to be pursuing the 'betterment' of Humanity, not tossing their adversaries to their pets to be tormented to death," Liara commented.

"Actually, it looks like they were disposing of his body. I count fifteen distinct injection locations: twelve along what's left of the arms and three on the neck. Shame," Fredrick stated.

"Linda, I'm not getting anything out of their computers. Looks like they were wiping them before we got here," Garrus said as he hacked through the lab computers.

"Hold on, I've got an idea," Fredrick said as he pulled out his backpack, and pulled out a machine the size of a large textbook. "I've got a neural scanner, these came in handy during the initial conflict with the Batarians towards the mid-21st Century." Unhooking two wires, he worked the metal prongs into the spine of the deceased admiral. "It basically allows me to go through memories of an individual. It works most efficiently during moments of neural inactivity, but when the victim is has suffered minimal neurological damage."

"Well, that's disgustingly convenient," Garrus commented as he watched Fredrick nonchalantly drill the plugs into the dead man's back. "How long will this take?"

"Depends. The admiral has only been dead for a few days now. I'd be incredibly unlucky if whatever those scientists had injected Kahoku with has essentially liquefied his brain and hence any evidence of where to look now. At most, it'll take me half an hour, so let's take his body back to the _Normandy_ ," Fredrick answered.

* * *

 **May 17, 2183**

 **15 hrs/35 min/06 sec**

 **SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **medbay, en route to Arcturus Station**

 _"One hundred and some years, what an age to be alive,"_ Fredrick thought to himself. Shepard and the crew had just investigated the Newton System in the Kepler Verge and a series of deaths linked to Cerberus. Those who died were identified as scientists who'd caused the Akuze incident he'd heard about when he was preparing for the Battle of Torfan. In reality, a single Alliance soldier survived the attack and had only just escaped after years of tortuous experiments. Linda had successfully talked the man out of killing the last scientist, and both would be brought back to Arcturus Station for trial.

He watched as the young Corporal Toombs bobbed back and forth in the corner of the medbay, after removing his armor and lighting a cigarette. The poor kid was still on edge and was trying to ease himself with some nicotine. He decided to step forward and ask, "I know you've been through a living hell, but do you desire to live a long, prosperous, and healthy life? Also, do you treasure the thickness of your bank accounts?"

Toombs silently nodded.

Fredrick's hand dashed forward, snatched up the cigarette, and flicked it into a disposal bin in the corner of the medbay, causing the poor soldier to flinch. "Then stop. Listen, I'm aware you desire revenge for yourself and your fallen comrades, but the scientists are simply pawns to a much more deeply rooted system. Cerberus is a terrorist organization with many ties, and is responsible for the deaths of forty-nine innocent men, and your unnecessary. But, if you really want to find justice, the damage you'll cause must be internal."

Toombs eyes widened with interest as his gaze fixed on the elder soldier. "Go on…"

"The scientist is a single loose end that they've failed to cover. Once he has been convicted, the Alliance will inevitably strip him for answers on Cerberus. If they're smart and competent, they'll initiate the effort to dismantle Cerberus for public safety and galactic trust. That's when you take your full revenge against them," Fredrick encouraged.

Toombs nodded as he gradually gained interest, and said, "You really think that'd happen?"

"No doubt, lad. Of course, this'll all happen after you've fully recovered, but this isn't necessarily the end of your chase. Those forty-nine will find justice," Fredrick reassured.

* * *

 **May 31, 2183**

 **09 hrs/25 min/40 sec**

 **Citadel Station,** _ **Normandy**_ **docking bay**

The team took two weeks of extended shore leave when they returned to the Citadel. With the exceptions of brief breaks in between some missions, the _Normandy_ had constantly been on the move. Now they were fully rested, he was riding the elevator to the _Normandy_ in response to Linda's return call. As he exited, he saw Linda conversing with a very agitated Alliance Officer with Garrus and Kaidan. "And we need to talk about your crew, commander. Krogan? Asari? A Turian? And that tinman? What are you thinking, commander? We can't allow alien nationals ready access to this ship!" the admiral questioned as he gestured to Fredrick.

"Hey, I'm Human _too_ , asshole," Fredrick retorted as he crossed his arms.

"You are sure lacking in respect, soldier. Do you even know who I am?" the admiral shot back.

"You sure don't have any problem sticking your head in the lion's den," Fredrick growled.

"Enough," Shepard halted. "Admiral, with all due respect, we have enough groups giving us hostile looks out here beyond the Sol System. Such an example would be Terran hostility to our own political movements. We can't win the hearts and minds of other races if we treat them with hostility and suspicion."

"That's assuming their hearts are worth winning, and that hasn't been proven yet. Have you got anything else to say?" the admiral stubbornly said.

"If you're going to have any hope of moving past looking like fucking Neanderthals amidst public relations, I strongly suggest you reconsider," Fredrick pointed out.

"Building on Müller's point, such races like the Terrans will always look down upon us if we don't establish these relations. In fact, having the major aboard my ship has helped me to better understand the big brother/little brother relationship between the Systems Alliance and the Terran Republic. The _Normandy_ 's multi-racial crew and multilateral design makes the Systems Alliance look good," Linda translated, rolling her eyes.

As the admiral sighed and said, "Your job, commander, is to make Humanity look good. The Alliance Navy's job is to win wars. I'm not convinced this tin can of a ship is a waste of good taxpayer money, but I am convinced you believe otherwise and that you know how to use her capabilities properly. I'll be submitting your report to the joint military council. I won't be putting your image in too negative a light, but we'll just have to see how they view your current position. Good hunting, commander! Make us proud." The admiral saluted and left the four of them and exited through the lift Fredrick exited.

"And I thought I've seen some pretty interesting conversations when I worked in C-Sec," Garrus commented as the team entered the _Normandy_ airlock.

"It could've been worse," Kaidan started. "Last time I looked over the railing, it was a long ways down before you came to a nice stop on the ground."

"And you two would just love to see that happen," Shepard growled. "Anyways, I just had a nice long chat with the council, they're sending us to the Sentry Omega at the edge of the Attican Traverse. We've gotten a lead on Saren, and apparently Saren's got a facility set up there."

"Oh, great, another enemy fortification in my backyard," Fredrick commented. "Any details as to what he's doing there?"

"Nothing really. An STG unit was sent there, and their coms have been jammed for a while. All that came through from our destination has just been static," Linda informed as the cleaning cycle ended.

"Hey commander," Joker alerted. "I just received a message from high command. They want us to check out a distress signal from the Exodus Cluster."

The group walked up behind the crippled pilot. "Any idea what's going on? Is it another Geth attack?" Kaidan asked.

"No idea. They said the details are sketchy at most. All we do know is that the attackers are using an asteroid that was being brought to the colony's orbit is being used as a means of turning the colony into a giant crater. ETA for impact is about six hours, and I can get us there in about two," Joker explained.

"As soon as the rest of the crew gets aboard, get us there ASAP, Joker. I had a few other things I wanted to get done before we shipped off to Virmire, and this will just have to be the first," Linda ordered.

"Aye aye, commander. Just wondering, who'd be this ballsy to strike at an Alliance colony this deep into our territory?" Joker asked.

"I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into another Eden Prime, or worse," Linda simply returned.


	9. Chapter 9: Old Blood

(A/N): Sorry this chapter took too long. On top of extensive procrastination, the other computer I had the chapter saved on broke down, so this is all mostly coming back from scratch. But now that this is out, I can stop worrying for a bit. Once again, Bioware and Electronic Arts own Mass Effect, I simply own the computers I use and gray matter I used to think of this.

Chapter 9: Old Blood

 _X57, a rather convenient plot device in this intricate story. Trying to shiny up the Pigheads, make them look pitiful. Maybe the one reason I am targeting the Harvesters is only because I seek something of greater capacity and with more disposable income to toss at me, because every faction in existence around me is too dumb to properly conduct their own resources in a challenging fashion for me to dismantle._

* * *

 **June 01, 2183**

 **15 hrs/33 min/28 sec Local Time**

 **Asteroid X57, Terra Nova, Asgard System, Exodus Cluster**

 _"Status: Sensors reveal three fusion torches propelling Asteroid X57. At its current rate, the asteroid will collide with Terra Nova in approximately four hours. Analysis: Torches must be deactivated to cease acceleration,"_ the _Normandy_ VI chimed over the intercom.

"Alright people, we're against the clock on this one, so make every action count," Linda said as she tapped the console to start up the Mako. Behind her, Garrus, Wrex, Ashley, and Fredrick piled in. "I know we're going with bigger squad than usual, but I want to be prepared for whatever is smashing this rock into a four-million populace and I don't want another Eden Prime."

"You got that, Skipper," Ashley responded as she got onto the seat of the vehicle's radar monitor.

"Wouldn't the asteroid still float towards Terra Nova after shutting off the torches? There isn't anything launching the mass in the opposite direction."

 _"Getting ready to drop in thirty seconds, guys. Be ready,"_ Joker informed over the intercom.

The _Normandy_ swung silently over the asteroid and dropped the Mako onto the surface below. As they landed, Ashley intercepted an anonymous source. _Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? I heard your transmission. They haven't found me yet, but I can't talk long. Please. Shut down the torches or we're all going to die! God, I hope you got this._

"Ashe, any way you can call them back, maybe get an idea of what we're up against?" Garrus said from the turret.

"I'm trying, but I can't get a connection from our side. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not picking up and Geth ships on the scanners. It'd be nice to shoot at something different besides mercenaries and Geth for once," Ashley answered.

"We'll find out when we get there. Garrus, take out those rocket towers," Shepard responded ash she weaved in and out of the rocket blasts.

It didn't take too long for the team to finally reach the first torch and exit the Mako, single file. After exiting the decontamination chamber into the warm interior of the engine room. As they entered the locker room and approached the main area, Fredrick used his ocular implants to check through the walls and get a visual on the opposition. "I count a total of nine hostiles. Four Varren and two humanoids I'm still identifying. Looks lik..." Fredrick drifted off as he finally identified the attackers. He managed to keep his emotional tone neutral as he uttered the word, "Batarians."

For the most part, Fredrick's eternal hatred for the species flew right over the heads of the others. "Batarians? What the hell are they even doing this deep into Alliance space? I thought the Hegemony was content on staying within their own space."

"What's important is we find out what they're doing and stop them. I want..." Shepard's voice drowned out as Fredrick's mind rushed with memories. Reid's dead glare, Khonsu in flames, and the fast series of skirmishes across various camps and colonies of both sides began to cycle through his head. He holstered his rifle and walked over to the worker lockers and opened one. Down at the bottom was a small mining tool designed for a Natural Human's physique rather than someone of his size. It's structure resembled a chainsaw from the 20th and 21st Centuries, with the "blade" now replaced with the same material used in omniblades. He ignited the blade and watched as the orange hologram before him hummed with energy. Sure, it was a savage means of disposal and far from clean, he had no intentions of keeping the workplace clean today. To be clean would mean to be merciful, and Batarians by no means deserved to receive mercy.

"Hey Fred, found something useful over there?" Ashley asked as she temporarily looked away from Linda's plan.

Ignoring Ashley, he walked over to the door to the engine room as he injected himself with an overclock stim using his left hand and carried the mining tool in the right. Dropping the used needle and getting a proper grip on the tool, he opened the door and stepped inside. "You guys should've stayed in bed this morning," he exclaimed before charging forward.

With his biotics, he lunged forward in swiftly hacked off the head of the first unsuspecting Batarian. As the body fell to the ground twitching as the last signals fired, he turned his attention to the Batarian to the left, swung the tool back, and brought it down, slicing the Batarian in half. Two Varren proceeded charged at him, only to be flung away with his biotics at a Batarian further back before slicing all three into pieces in a series of wild slashes. Dodging a shockwave, he proceeded to fling the attacking vanguard, impaling and pinning the soldier to the wall behind him. Approaching the last Batarian in cover, he swept him of his feet with a kick to the legs before biotically bringing both fists down through the Batarian's chest cavity.

As the others caught up with Fredrick on the way up the stairs to disable the first torch, Linda confronted Fredrick, saying, "What the ever-living fuck was that?!"

"Clearing a room of Batarian tangos. What else?" Fredrick asked in return.

"Firstly, you charged in before any of us were ready. Secondly, I gave you no such order to go in before us. Thirdly, you went about slaughtering them like you were a serial killer in a B-level horror vid. Care to explain yourself?" Shepard retorted, swinging the butt of her shotgun harmlessly against Fredrick with each point.

"Does it matter how I kill them?" Fredrick asked as he approached the torch control panel. "They're terrorists, and they're threatening four million lives. In fact, I'm doing them a favor by allowing them to avoid life-time lock-up."

"That's it? That's all you need to declare yourself judge, jury, and executioner? Besides, how can you even assume they're terrorists," she asked as Garrus tinkered with the damaged controls.

"I've fought this fight plenty of times for the Alliance colonies, and I damn well recognize Hegemony extremists when I see them by now, right down to their sub-par equipment design. You think they'd learn anything from a 'fair trial'? Besides, they're more than guaranteed the death sentence at some point in the judging process," Fredrick continued to argue.

"He's got a point. On Tachunka, those caught threatening non-combatants, especially women and children were executed," Wrex backed.

"Wrex, don't fucking help him. He doesn't deserve it," Shepard jabbed.

"We can argue later, guys. First torch is deactivated," Garrus said as his omnitool faded and the lights on the monitor flickered.

Shepard's telecom lit up with the anonymous voice from earlier. _"I'm reading that one of the torches is offline. Was that you? Please, can you hear me?"_

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance Navy, here in response to your distress call. What's going on here?" Linda responded.

 _"Oh, thank God. I'm Kate Bowman, an engineer on the team tasked with bringing the asteroid into Terra Nova's orbit for mineral extraction. We were attacked yesterday by Batarian extremists, and we've been hiding since their arrival. I've managed to steal a radio from one of them, they know the torch went out,"_ the voice introduced herself.

"Any demands so far?" Shepard continued.

 _"I don't know. It must be very important to them if they're going to vaporate four million people with this rock,"_ Kate answered. _"I'll stay patched into their communications, try and give you- crap, I've got to go. Good luck."_

"See. Shepard? Batarian terrorists. I didn't even need to guess," Fredrick pointed out.

"Fine. But why the hell did you need to go about with the mining tool anyways, you fucking savage?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Psychological warfare. Helps the enemy know their final destination. If you really want to demotivate opposition, you'd take the time to mutilate their dead," Fredrick answered as he plucked a particle pick from the back of a dead miner.

"Christ sake, you just cannot be reasoned with," she retorted as she returned to the locker, only to be met by a pistol round on her shields.

"Ah shit! I didn't... are you hurt?" the assailant asked as he snuck out of the shadows. It was a miner within his late fifties, armed with light engineer armor and a pistol.

"Relax, it was simply a chip on the shields. I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. Who are you? Are you hurt?" Linda asked nonchalantly.

"Well that's a relief. Simon Atwell, chief engineer on this asteroid. Listen, we don't have much time. The Batarians have fired up the torches and are driving this rock into Terra Nova. We've got to stop them! Four million people are down there! My kids, grand kids, they-" Simon started.

"Relax, that's why we're here," Garrus answered. "We'll turn off the torches and we'll clear them out well before there's one hour left."

Taking a few breaths, Atwell continued, "Well that's a relief. Listen, they haven't just been killing whomever they come across. They've been rounding up a few survivors at the main building. Also, they've reused some of the blasting caps I've shipped off to one of the torches as improvised mines at the base of the torch. They're proximity triggered and they'll easily tear through your tank."

"Nothing we can't handle. Just stay put and stay hidden," Linda reassured. "No one else will be dying today if I can help it. By the way, we were contacted by a Kate Bowman as soon as we arrived, do you know her?"

"Kate's alive? How-? She's my best engineer. She signed on with her brother, Aaron, for this job. I don't know where she is right now, but please make sure she's still alive," Simon pleaded.

* * *

 **16 hrs/03 min/32 sec**

"She moved like a liquid around him. When he lashed out at her, she just wasn't there any more." That's how she described her younger sister Sarah to Shepard. Fredrick's brutal fighting style very much mimicked Sarah's fluid style with a twist of solidity to it. With whatever tool was available, he'd used it in combat to rip and tear at whatever poor soul came within reaching distance. He was too fast for most shots to ever land properly. Those that did were either absorbed by his shields, his armor if they ever got the opportunity to do so, or by brief flickers of his nanite shield. Solid and liquid. Fast yet strong, paired together formed seeming invulnerability. No wonder Fredrick was such a terrifying figure to behold among those who sought to oppose him.

As they made their way through the second torch's engine room after waddling through the blasting cap field, Fredrick now wielded two pieces of broken pipe, one short and sharp and the other blunt and long. With a short piece, he jabbed a Batarian in the throat before drawing the piece back and bludgeoning the Batarian in the head with the long piece. He was extending the furthers forward into the groups followed closely by Wrex. Rolling away from a rocket detonation, Fredrick jumped up, grabbed the rocket drone, and flung it at a Batarian soldier, killing both. As Garrus picked off the last Batarian Sniper, Linda walked up behind Wrex and asked, "Hey Wrex, could you do me a favor and talk some sense into Fredrick?"

"What? Why? He's angry and has all right to be. This is his moment, just like that time we went to get my family armor," Wrex asked.

"Did something happen to Fredrick that causes him to hold the grudge he does against Batarians?" Linda asked.

"Shepard, I respect you and everything you've accomplished from Elysium to being the first Human Specter, but you really are uninformed about Galactic History. Fredrick is a veteran of the Terran Republic's version of the 314 Relay Incident. While it only lasted a couple of weeks, but both the Terrans and the Batarians didn't leave without some nice scars. If you want some finer details, ask him later," Wrex returned.

"You can't tell me?" she asked again, giving Wrex her classic angry glare.

"He never talked much about it. He's rather silent about much of his past until he's recently been confronted by old ghosts and is still spooked enough about it. All I can say is don't ask too soon, but don't ask too late," Wrex shrugged.

"Fine. Garrus, get to work on that panel," she ordered.

Fredrick dropped the worn pipes and began to look over more lockers for possible replacements. He proceeded to pull out a yard-long strip of metal, bent at both ends and painted mostly with a red hue: a crowbar. Right tool, wrong place, all-the-more effective in getting the job done. _"I'll work."_

"Alright Müller, what the hell is this all about really? I know of that first contact conflict you had with the Batarians. At least shine some light for me," Linda begged.

"Later. For now, all you need to know was that bad blood occurred between us," Fredrick answered as he twirled the crowbar around in his hand.

Sighing, Linda continued, "Look, at what point would you be satisfied to stop wanting to kill every Batarian in sight? I can't have you on the team if you're going to suddenly snap and go about publicly slaughtering Batarians."

Sharply turning to her, Fredrick retorted, "First, you tell me what you don't have against Batarians. How in hell do you believe they deserve any fair treatment? I thought we would've been in agreement, especially after you defended Elysium from wave after wave of these fucking animals. Maybe it would've put matters into perspective had you been on Torfan as well."

"So I could murder civilians as well?" Shepard countered.

"Don't lecture me, Shepard. My eyes were wide open that day, I wasn't going to walk home with ten thousand young souls dead and a job half done," Fredrick spat.

As Garrus finished with the torch, Kate called them again. _"Are you there? You've got to hurry. You're starting to stir up hell over here. Their leader is setting explosives everywhere. I don't know how long you'll have before-"_

 _"Hey! Get away from there!"_ a Batarian voice called before the transmission cut to static.

"Shit, let's go. Look, what I'm saying is that you can't keep going in circles forever. You've got to acknowledge that there are plenty of scenarios where everyone can leave alive," she continued to argue as she quickly made her way back down the stairs. "I'm trying to go back to the point that you just can't go around killing people."

"Alright. And?" Fredrick said back.

* * *

 **16 hrs/25 min/00 sec**

"Hold it right there! This doesn't have to end in blood shed!" As they were beginning to leave after shutting down the third and final torch, the team encountered a trio of Batarians towards the exit.

"About time some of these Bastards shows some self-preservation," Fredrick muttered.

"Don't come any closer," the leader of the small team said, keeping his rifle close. "We just don't want any more trouble."

"Alright, I'm going to have to go with Müller on this one. I seriously didn't know you guys even knew the word 'peaceful,' or even if the word existed within your vocabulary," Linda groaned.

"Look, we were just following orders, hijacking this asteroid _wasn't_ my idea," the team leader gestured back.

"And that concerns me _how_?" Fredrick said, continuing to twirl the now slightly dented and now red-er crowbar in his hand.

"I only signed on for a bit of profit. A quick slave grab, nothing more," the Batarian said, becoming increasingly nervous.

"So just because you were here for slaves and not a massacre means I should spare you? Interesting logic," Fredrick said, twirling the crowbar more intensely.

"This isn't a slave operation any more. In case you didn't notice, four million people were about to die, do you have an explanation for that?" Linda asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Like I said," the Batarian started off slowly. "I was following orders. If this were my operation, we would've left hours ago and not even touched the torches."

"Well if you were leaving, by all means, you've got ten seconds to run like hell before I add you to the list of Hegemony casualties," Fredrick prompted.

"Like he _said_ , it's not too late. Get out of here while you can," Shepard said, with now light traces of anger seeping into her voice.

"Not a chance. Balak would skin me alive and sell my skin as a carpet for deserting," the squad leader answered.

"Five seconds."

"Never mind Balak, we'll deal with him."

"Good luck, he's got quite the show waiting for you."

As the Batarian squad left, Shepard finally kicked Fredrick in the shin-pads. She knew that his armor and shield would easily deflect it, but it did help to ease her emotions. "Was that so fucking hard?"

"To deny you of satisfaction, yes it was," Fredrick answered.

* * *

 **16 hrs/40 min/28 sec**

Fredrick used what was left of the crowbar to pry off the cover to a ventilation shaft and said, "Stay here while I scout ahead. I'll let you guys know when it's safe to enter."

"Oh no you _don't_. I've had enough of you running ahead today like a toddler. You will stick to formation or you can get off of the _Normandy_ the next time we visit the Citadel," Shepard spat.

"In case you've already forgotten, Kate and that Batarian squad leader you foolishly set free mentioned the possibility of a trap in this building, namely explosives. I'll scout ahead and dismantle any I can find. I'll let you know when it's safe to advance," Fredrick reminded.

Garrus, Ashley, and Wrex had decidedly remained silent for the majority of the conversation between the two soldiers for fear of aggravating them or getting hurt themselves. Their eyes remained glued to the Aug until he disappeared into the hole in the wall. Silently crawling around, he occasionally peaked into the room outside of the metal tube, getting a feel for how many to he'd have to fight through. Occasionally, he'd silently remove the vent cover to leave and disable the explosive device he was closest to. After finding the detonator, ripping it out, and tossing it aside, he'd return to the hole he came from and crawled onward. Weaving through the elaborate maze, he finally entered a small supply closet with the remaining engineers held captive inside. Uncoiling from the roof, he silently dropped to the floor, gestured to the others to remain silent, then approached the last bomb for defusing.

Finished with the job at hand, he stood up and contacted Shepard. "Bombs have been defused, you guys should be clear to enter."

 _Good. Did you find the hostages as well?_ Linda asked in return.

"They were locked up with another explosive device. I've taken care of it though, so we should be completely risk free," Fredrick answered.

Outside, he hear the rest of the squad enter and begin firing as he returned to the vent entrance. Deciding to take a vantage point in the open, he exited onto the top level balcony of the main facility. Staying low, he arrivedb just in time to see Shepard and the others confront Balak. "Predictable, but this isn't over," Balak started. "I'm leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, I'll detonate these charges, causing your little helper and her friends to die and this facility to come crashing down around us."

"I can't let you go Balak, not after what happened here today," Linda started.

"This is nothing! What you Humans have done to the Batarians is far worse! Forced us into exile! For decades, we've been forced to survive on what little we can salvage!" Balak screeched back.

Straightening up, Fredrick countered with, "That's an awful stretch of the truth Balak."

Turning to Fredrick and drawing his pistol, Balak returned, "Cease spewing your toxic lies, Wolf! You wouldn't ever understand the destruction the likes of you Humans have caused!"

"Are the Batarians any different? Are they somehow free of the blame of political incident after political incident, century after century? Let's take a historical review, shall we?" Fredrick mocked, feeling the slender blades of crystallized nanites forming in his hand. "1785 CE, a Batarian fleet bombarded the Salarian colony of Mannovia. 1913 CE, the Hegemony forcefully annexed the Asari colony of Esan. 2044 CE, the Hegemony initiates a conflict with the Terran Republic in retaliation for a rescue mission against Batarian traders. 2115 CE, Citadel forces engage Hegemony battalions over the planet Enael. I could go on digging up bad memories of the Batarian's existence, but that'd be excessive on all accounts so let's all come to a compromise. Since Commander Shepard is so inclined on letting as few die as possible in this engagement, I'll even grant you the opportunity to simply drop the detonator and walk away. You won't need explosives to get out of this scenario. You can even tell your friends how the Wolf was so kind as to spare your filthy skin."

Having been clearly provoked, Balak held up the detonator for all to see as he said, "You and the rest of the Augs can burn in hell!" He tapped the trigger repeatedly, yielding no results.

"You chose poorly." Fredrick quickly nailed a Balak and a couple of his remaining associates with the nanite blades while the others continued to clean up the rest of the Batarian extremists. Meeting with the others and retrieving the blades from Balak and his men, he began, "Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk, shame, isn't it Shepard? I presented him with the chance to leave, but he still didn't have his best interest in mind."

Linda simply gave him a defiant, enraged stare. She'd run out of patience and words to fight back with. Naturally, Fredrick could care less how menacing her green eyes or twitching freckled skin looked.

"Did my offer for a peaceful outcome change anything? I'm confident it didn't," Fredrick said as he walked over numerous fallen Batarians to the supply locker the other engineers were kept in.

"Name one goddam thing the Batarians have done recently to deserve the shit you give them," Linda started. It was rare for Linda to lose her cool, but Fredrick was surprisingly skilled in manipulating others' emotions.

"Of the various locals, Mindoir comes to mind. I don't care how much you wish to appear to be compassionate or a paragon of what Humanity has to offer. The real universe is not nearly as friendly, rewarding, or forgiving. Perhaps we can all learn a little bit from today," Fredrick continued in a sadistic sing-song voice.

* * *

 **June 15, 2183**

 **11 hrs/46 min/39 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , mess hall, en route to Sentry Omega**

In the weeks of cleanup that followed, Fredrick's behavior didn't improve. It was the same brief flash of something aggressive and hostile the others had experience earlier that year, now returned and in full force. Most aboard the _Normandy_ sought to keep some physical distance between them and the armored force of nature, avoiding any unnecessary wrath on his part. The mess hall was mostly empty as he sat down to eat his MRE. He ignored most of the cautious glances that he received as he ate his meal. Unexpectedly, Ashley proceeded to sit down in front of him, proceeding to eat her own MRE. "Rough month, huh?" she prompted.

"Hhmm," Fredrick responded simply. An awkward pause passed between the two before either continued.

Ashley decided to take the initiative. "I know this is a bit sensitive, but-"

"It's quite alright, Ashley," Fredrick interrupted. "I'm a full fledged adult and even an elder in some accounts, I have no problem being confronted with my personal issues."

Taking the opportunity, she mentioned, "You and Wrex mentioned some sort of conflict between you and the Batarians back in what I remember is the mid 21st. What happened back then?"

Fredrick took a deep breath before looking up. "As Wrex put it, it was our version of the First Contact War. We were expanding into deep space from our corner of the Attican Verge. No one knew us and we remained largely under the radar for the first few months. At some point, a couple of scouts got captured by Batarian slavers. They made a deal with the Council, seeing if they could get a deal for revealing a foreign race, but I and my team of six others got to the scouts first. The Batarians didn't take it lightly and engaged in a full fledged two week conflict with us."

"Two weeks? That was fast," Ashley commented with surprise.

"Maybe, but it was still a living hell. The idea of interstellar conflict with another civilization was absolutely terrifying at the time, as it was still a fantasy of the movies. Even if they had us outnumbered, we had them outgunned with our non-Prothean based tech. It wasn't till the second week that we got our bearings against the Batarians. We had no means prior for warfare in space, and was nowhere near as easy as depicted in the movies either. It was the first time for all of us."

* * *

 **April 09, 2044**

 **12 hrs/41 min/35 sec**

 **Zanibaar, Khonsu, Ra System, Nile Nebula**

"Hey, over here!" Michael waved. He had a spot at the bar reserved for when Fredrick entered. "Well I'll be, that's an interesting color scheme. I didn't think the marine corps had colors besides gray and blue. I almost didn't recognize you for a moment."

 _"Actually, these are custom paint jobs we had applied. My team also has colors and designs of their own making as well,"_ Fredrick described as he pulled off his helmet and turned to give Reid a full view. _"Do you like it, or do the colors clash too much?"_

Reid simply gave him a confused glance. "Sorry, I don't understand German. I wish I could though," he admitted with a light chuckle.

"Oh, I- I'm so sorry," Fredrick apologized. "I hadn't realized I was using German. I was recently implanted with the experimental neural hub. It allows for shared knowledge, but it makes being multilingual an absolute nightmare."

"It's okay," Reid said as he ordered himself a beer. "So how's the fighting been going so far?"

"Rough to say the very least. The fucking Pigheads are incredibly aggressive. We tried to communicate we're friendly, but they didn't take it too well," Fredrick answered.

Michael lightly chuckled. "Of all the names you could've given to an alien race, you jarheads go with 'Pigheads'? How fucking original."

"It's because of the snouts and their coincidentally humanoid bodies. Also, they've got some rather bizarre customs. Anyways, I said that the armor is a custom paint job. I know it's a rather inconvenient color choice, but my team and I decided to switch off of the normal color pallet after my pilot Amory painted his armor completely red. For style points," Fredrick said as he returned to the question from earlier.

"That's nice. You said something about the neural hub?" Michael asked before he took a sip of his beer.

"More experimental tech. Think of it as cloud computing. Why do you ask?" Fredrick asked as he ordered himself a drink.

"Many of the guys at the PD have been getting implants recently. They claim it's helpful in the field, but I'm not entirely sure about whether or not to invest. For starters, what are the eyes like?" Reid answered, gesturing to Fredrick's face.

"The ocular implants are incredibly helpful. It allows me to see biometrics, see through some materials, see a wider part of the light spectrum, and allows me to physically see the types of aliments that people are suffering from. Amazing what we can accomplish, huh?" Fredrick described.

"Well, with a direct customer review, I just might try it out myself," Reid said before the two's coms went off with incoming calls.

 _Lieutenant M_ _ü_ _ller! Get back to HQ. Hostiles just entered the system and have engaged our fleet. A small portion of their ships have broken off to land on the planet surface and have already begun to enter the atmosphere. I want you and your team prepared to defend or evacuate civilians,_ General Sokol ordered.

"Understood general," Fredrick answered before turning to Reid. "I presume you got the call too?" he asked.

"Yeah, got to get people to cover before things get too bad," Michael said, putting on his helmet.

"I'll catch you later then," Fredrick returned as he put on his own helmet. As his eyes adjusted to the HUD, he saw a damaged enemy gunship tumbling towards the pub, narrowly dodging the flaming ship. Coughing and getting to his feet, he drew his rifle, firing upon the injured survivors of the crashed ship. Clearing the opposition, he turned to the ruined shop, calling, "Michael! You alright?" As his vision adjusted to the smoke, he saw a now dead Michael lying against the bar, impaled by a few metal rods. "Fuck. Not you too, Reid," he muttered before turning back outside into the fray.

* * *

"It was bad for both sides, regardless. A lot of good people died unnecessarily. We weren't willing to listen either when we eventually made it to Khar'Shan the following week. We all had lost friends and family, and we were only interested in spilling more of their blood than they did ours," Fredrick described.

"Shit," Ashley responded. "I hadn't realized..."

"It's alright. We've all got something dragging behind us at some point in our lives. It's unavoidable for us soldiers," Fredrick said. "We've all got our prejudices, and there's no reason to be entirely ashamed of yours, Williams."

"Well, thanks for letting me know. It's been bothering me for a while now," Ashley said as she stood to dispose of her MRE container.


	10. Chapter 10: Bad Time at the Beach

(A/N): Next week or two is going to be rough, so I'll try and get this chapter out of the way ASAP.

Chapter 10: Bad Time at the Beach

 _I'm ready. I've had most of my old scars reopened as of late, and I feel mentally prepared for another. It'll hurt, but I know what I must do. Alice, if you hear me out there, you've been watching, and I don't get an opportunity to tell him, please tell Saren I loved him, and that I in no way desired his harm. He'll understand, I know he will._

* * *

 **June 17, 2183**

 **17 hrs/41 min/58 sec Local Time**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , orbit over Virmire, Hoc System, Sentry Omega**

The Normandy silently approached the luscious planet below. The whole away team stood behind Joker as they watched themselves eerily hover towards the planet's atmosphere. "Commander, I'm getting a signal. Must be our Salarian infiltration team."

"Watch those towers," Kaidan warned from the copilot seat.

"Everyone suit up, we'll be dropping in the Mako. Joker, activate the stealth drive and find a good location that is just outside of those AA towers' scanning range," Shepard ordered. As the team began to make their way to the lockers in the hanger, she pulled aside Fredrick and asked, "Are you going to be okay with this? Don't get me wrong, I've done my homework during shore leave. You and Saren seemed to be pretty close back in the day."

"I'm fine, Linda. These last few months have been too close for comfort, but I'm not going to hesitate when it comes down to killing Saren. It's for the best for both of us, and surely by now he's a level five infected," Fredrick answered.

"Well, we'll help you if it ultimately comes down to it. There's eight of us and one of him. He's not getting away this time," Shepard reassured.

* * *

 **16 hrs/59 min/20 sec**

 **Virmire**

"Good. Stay out of range and continue evasive maneuvers until we bring down those AA guns. Meet us at the Salarian camp site down river," Linda ordered after the Mako landed.

 _Don't worry, I got this. Joker out,_ Jeff responded.

Everyone had packed into the Mako for this mission, but other than that, it was a mostly silent trip down the river, outside of the gunshots and occasional callout. Everyone had become used to their role in Shepard's team, watching each other's back and moving like a synchronized machine. Silently, Fredrick was cutting all remaining mental ties to Saren. He knew he'd eventually do it, and the least he could do now is soften the emotional impact.

After passing the final gate and make their rapid approach to the Salarian camp, Joker called them one more time. _Commander,_ Normandy _'s touched down but it looks like we're grounded. The Salarians can give you a better explanation_ _when you get here._ As the team exited into the open, the Mako had a clear view of the _Normandy_ , unloading Alliance troops, and the STG camp site, set up right at the foot of the base. Unloading at the camp, the team was approached by a green Salarian wearing white armor with maroon stripes. "Commander, I'm Captain Kirrahe of the Third Infiltration Regiment, STG and leader of the task force here. I wish we could meet on better terms, but you've just landed your stealth frigate in the middle of a hot zone. Every AA gun within ten miles has been alerted to your presence."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Shepard shrugged, raising an eyebrow.

"We should stay put until the Council sends the reinforcements we requested," Kirrahe suggested.

Fredrick was the first to speak during the brief pause. "We _are_ the reinforcements."

"What?! You're all they sent! I told them to send a fleet!" Kirrahe returned with dismay.

"Hey. To be fair, the message didn't come through clearly so we were sent to investigate," Kaidan defended. "Also, we've brought along Major Fredrick Müller. If my memory of working along side him is any indication, he's basically worth ten thousand of you guys."

"Investigation would be a repetition of our task. I lost half my men 'investigating' that place," Kirrahe dismissed.

"Relax. Just send me in, I'll clear the place out," Fredrick said, trying to make a friendly gesture.

The captain just shook his head. "Impossible. The place is packed to the brim with Krogan and Geth. You'd never make it out alive."

Fredrick stifled an audible chuckle. "Sorry. If they really are packing heat in there, what are they defending that's so valuable?"

"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here and it's well fortified. We've managed to intercept coms suggesting Saren is still planetside. Additional intel suggests he's been researching a cure to the Genophage and is using it as a means of breeding Krogan." Mere mention of a cure perked Wrex's interest in the converstaion.

"Geth are bad enough, but a Krogan army... what's the approach?" Shepard commented.

"We need to ensure this facility and its secrets are destroyed. We can't afford letting whatever's in there to escape," Kirrahe said, gesturing to a rather improvised piece of machinery in one of the tents.

"Destroyed?" Wrex asked, walking forward. "I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them," he continued to growl.

"If that cure leaves this planet, the Krogan will become unstoppable. We can't make the same mistake again," Kirrahe justified.

"With all due respect, captain, we've done the math. And at their current rate of population degradation, the Krogan won't last two more centuries," Fredrick countered.

Wrex only marched forward before jabbing a finger in Kirrahe's face. "We are _not_ a mistake!" he yelled before tromping down the beach-line.

"Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry Krogan to deal with." Fredrick was on the verge of shooting off one of the captain's horns.

"He'll be fine, I'll talk to him," Shepard said.

"I'd appreciate that, commander. In the meantime, I'll be rethinking our plan of attack. At least your presence does offer some additional opportunities. If you need supplies, talk to Commander Rentola. He's in the tent over there." Kirrahe returned to the main tent while Linda made her way to Wrex's side of the beachhead.

Fredrick cautiously eyed the conversation between Wrex and Linda. He knew Wrex wouldn't harm Shepard unnecessarily, as the two had too much history with each other for events to swiftly turn for the worst. When Wrex did draw his shotgun on Linda, Fredrick forced Ashley to holster her weapon to prevent matters from getting worse. They were too far to truly discern what the two said to the other, but they quickly came to amends and walked away without firing a shot. As Linda returned, Fredrick couldn't help but complement, "I'm impressed. Of all the people I argue with, Wrex is surprisingly the toughest to win a debate with. You have my respect."

"Well, it was all a matter of convincing him that it was either being infected with the Genophage, or being a slave to Saren. He chose the former," Shepard simply stated.

Kirrahe returned to them and said, "Thank you for talking with your Krogan. Taking this base down will be tough enough as is, but we've got an idea." Pulling out his omnitool to display a map, Kirrahe continued, "We'll be using the drive core from what's left of our ship as a makeshift nuclear ordinance as you Humans call it. Crude, but it'll do. Unfortunately, we can't to a fly-by and drop it, we'll need to plant it securely if it will have any effect. Your ship will be able to deploy it, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any resistance along the way. My men will will be split into three teams and will attack from the front. Meanwhile, your team will strike from behind and sabotage their numbers from behind. It's a suicide mission, but it's a risk we'll have to take and the STG is trained for tasks like this. This unfortunately brings me to require something on your part. I'll need one from your team to help coordinate the third strike team."

"Fair enough, we'll need someone who knows Alliance communication protocols," Shepard answered.

"I can lead the strike team, commander," Kaidan volunteered.

"Not so fast," Ashley countered. "Shepard will need you to arm the nuke."

"Enough, you two. Kaidan will lead the third team and provide biotic assistance. Ashley, Liara, and Tali will stay on the _Normandy_ and help with setting up the bomb. We'll regroup once we get the nuke planted," Shepard interrupted.

"I'll have the nuke loaded onto your ship and quickly brief your engineers on detonation sequencing. You have any other questions going forward?" Kirrahe explained.

"For now, I'll take a copy of the map. In the mean time, is there anything you'll need from me while we're back there?" Shepard asked.

While Kirrahe extended his own omnitool and transferred the map files, he said, "Anything you do back there that would soften up resistance against us would be greatly appreciated."

"Well, other than that I think we're ready to go. Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

 **17 hrs/32 min/37 sec**

 _Shadow team must be getting close. Hold the line, men! Hold the line!_ Kirrahe said over the coms.

Shepard, Garrus, Wrex, and Fredrick had finally reached the back of Saren's facility and were on a loading dock to a back warehouse. As Garrus interacted with the control panel, he informed, "We've got access to the security systems. I can cut the alarms here, or set them off at the other side of the base. It'd clear out the guards, but it might put extra pressure on the Salarians."

"Why'd we do that? There's seven of us and none of us have gone down. Not with Fredrick around anyways," Wrex commented. "It's no fun if all we face is a bunch of empty rooms."

"The STG have enough problems as is. Just disable the alarms," Shepard ordered. The four entered the warehouse, immediately encountering a Geth destroyer and several lightly armed Salarians.

"Looks like captured STG commandos, each one infected. Nothing we can do for them," Fredrick informed as he shot the last nearby Salarian through the head. Making their way past a dreadnought, the team entered a walkway overlooking multiple prison cells containing Salarians. "More of them here too. Just how big was this strike team?" Fredrick inquired hypothetically. Investigating further, the team found access to the cells below, one with numerous Salarians and one isolated on. "Over here, this one's a level one infected," Fredrick beckoned the others.

As they got closer, the Salarian greeted, "Since you're not Geth and you're not in lab coats, I guess I'm glad to see you. Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration Regiment, captured during recon. I assume the fleet has arrived to destroy the base?"

"We'll be destroying the base. Unfortunately, we lack a fleet to back us with," Linda stated simply.

"You must be the infiltration team. Unfortunately, my team is too far gone by now. They were good men, heavily experimented on by our captors. Now they're reduced to little more than empty shells of themselves. Those who died were quickly brought back as monstrosities, abominations against nature," the lieutenant continued with some satisfaction before drastically shifting to a somber tone. "They were studying symptoms and progress, possibly Saren wanted to find a means of using it to control his people, but I don't think even he understands it."

"Fuck. Level six's, or almost there anyways," Fredrick said, observing the cell with all the others. By now, their skin had heavily degraded, giving way to a dull-gray semi-synthetic weave and a sickly blue glow. Additionally, hexagonal scars, protruding wires, and malformed limbs burst the Salarian's undergarments. "Sorry Lieutenant, but your team is as good as dead. Should I take any identification tags to hand to you before you leave?"

"I suppose so, but please make their deaths quick," the Lieutenant answered. As Linda opened the cell door to allow the Lieutenant to escape, Fredrick opened the other to open fire upon the infected squad.

After retrieving their ID tags and treating the survivor, Fredrick handed the pile to the lieutenant before saying, "Return to the front of the base. If you hurry, our ship is still there and will be able to pick you up."

"Thanks, all of you. Don't let these men down. Make them pay," the lieutenant encouraged.

* * *

 **17 hrs/47 min/13 sec**

As they went deeper into the facility, the team encountered more Geth, a handful of scientists, and more infected former STG. Eventually, the team found rows of tanks full of growing Krogan, much to Wrex's dismay. As they entered another office, the single inhabitant screamed, "Don't shoot! Please! I just want to get out of here before it's too late!" The woman was an Asari doctor, with no weapons or armor.

"Relax, we won't shoot. What's your name?" Fredrick said as he walked up to the desk.

"Rana Thanptis, neurospecialist. Please, I just want to leave before I'm turned into one of the experiments!" Rana answered, returning to the underside of her desk for safety. "Sooner or later, Saren wants to see the full effects of the indoctrination on anyone on this base, myself included."

"We know of what indoctrination is capable of. No need to convince us," Linda said as she edged past Fredrick. "However, do clarify one thing. I thought this facility was a breeding site."

"This level of the facility serves as a lab for experimenting on Sovereigns effects on organic minds. The longer they are exposed to the ship, the more it fries their brain tissue inside out. If you're unlucky enough, you're reduced to little more than some bodily horror," Rana said, handing Shepard a datapad with brain scans of a deceased Salarian. "Some of the Salarian's we've captured are barely recognizable anymore. Other than that, I don't know much. Saren kept us in the dark for most of the operation."

"I'm assuming you forgot to read the fine print on the contract," Fredrick asked sarcastically.

"Look, I can still help. Behind me leads a path to Saren's private lab. No one besides him goes in there." Taping a few keys on her desk monitor, the doors at the opposite side of the office slid open. "No one besides him goes back there. I've managed to get my self access, but I never found an opportunity to look."

"Thanks, now get moving," Wrex ordered. "We'll be nuking this hell-hole, and it'd be a shame if we caught you in the blast."

"What? You can't... but I'll never... AAAH!" Suddenly, Rana threw a ball of energy at the window and denting it before throwing herself out into the water below.

"For future reference, she wasn't infected," Fredrick explained as he walked along the private passage. As promised, the team made their way along the catwalk into another building further back before entering an elevator to the top of the lab. As they exited, the room before them had a wide window, encasing two levels, the upper small balcony with two ramps on either side leading downward to a Prothean beacon. While Wrex, Garrus, and Linda walked down, Fredrick decided to investigate the small balcony. It had what appeared to be a control panel. His eyes scanned over for any sort of power switch, hoping to turn it on and extract possibly beneficial files. Before he could touch anything, a red hue encased the controls, and the image of Sovereign appeared before him.

 _"Oh, it's you. It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy as of late, making final preparations,"_ Sovereign mocked.

It was strange at first. He simply interpreted Sovereign as another faceless voice representing the mass that was the Harvesters. Now that he's heard the voice, a specific emotion was triggered in his mind. Perhaps it was the tone, the attitude, or the specific design of this Harvester that presented itself before him, but he knew what he was looking at. The series of emotions that set off in his mind caused a specific name to roll off his tongue like flame from a dragon's mouth. _"Indeed it has, Nazara."_

* * *

Linda landed back on her feet before slowly rising back up. The vision now made sense. The haze of Prothean words formed something intelligible in her mind. It was one final warning to the rest of the Prothean Empire, a warning given far too late. Soon afterwards, the Reapers consumed them and their civilization. A fate shared by every civilization before and every civilization since if she failed to stop them.

"Are you alright?" Garrus asked with concern.

"I'm fine. Let's get going before... what's Fredrick doing up there?" The trio turned their attention to the balcony above them, watching as Fredrick conversed with the image of Sovereign. The words the two spoke were completely foreign, not resembling anything within the current era or from ruins before them. Whatever the two were talking about, it was a very heated argument.

Suddenly, Sovereign shifted to English and turned her attention to her. "Ah, Commander Linda Shepard. How appropriate of you to join us. We were having a brief exchange. You genuinely believe these puny entities are capable of stopping the rest of us? I'm honestly disappointed that you failed to muster something... more since our last encounter."

"I'll hand it to you that you and the others have done well to hide otherwise blatant facts from generations of species. How much longer do you expect this to last, though?" Fredrick asked in return.

"I thought you were more developed than this. The cycle cannot be broken. Its purpose is to maintain balance," Sovereign argued.

"Right intentions, wrong application," Fredrick spat. "Eons upon eons to refine, and you stick to this old crank? It's been allowed to run for long enough that you are surely capable of an upgrade, no? Or are your puny iron-built capacitors incapable of calculating a more efficient means of maintaining the balance? The answer is simply sitting out in the open. All you need to do is let the others know of the opportunity."

"You clearly haven't processed this for long enough either. There is no other way. It simply is," Sovereign stated.

"If you refuse to see the better alternative, then I'll scoop all of you aside so I can do it myself. Do me a favor and inform the others how obsolete they are," Fredrick returned.

"We shall see. In the mean time, this exchange is over."

"Of course. I'll catch you later."

"No you won't." Outside the window, in the distance, Nazara made a swift dash by, attacking with a light burst from its particle cannons, simply causing minor damage to the building as the red lights went dead.

 _Commander, do you read me? We've got trouble! That Reaper Sovereign? It's moving, and it just pulled a turn that would've sheered any of our own in half. Whatever you did, it pissed the thing off! It just blasted a few buildings in the distance, not sure why,_ Joker reported over the intercoms.

"We know. The plot runs a bit deeper than anticipated. I'll go over it during debriefing. In the mean time, get ready to meet us at the drop site and drop off that nuke. Shepard out," the team quickly returned to the elevator and continued to fight their way past Geth and Krogan clones. As they made their way closer and closer to the rendezvous site, Wrex, Garrus, and Linda constantly gave Fredrick glances of unease when he wasn't looking. His reaction to what he now referred to as "Nazara" war unexpected. Wrex and Garrus felt genuine dread, Linda felt defiance towards the boastful entity, Fredrick had a full-fledged rivalry with the Reaper. By the sound of their conversation in both English and whatever they were speaking prior, the two had some beef with the other, something out of an old gangster vid. It wasn't too long before the team made it to the geothermal taps that powered the base where the bomb was to be planted.

A distant explosion went off, generating praise from Joker. _Alright! Good work guys! One less to worry about! Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site as I can._ Overhead, the _Normandy_ came into view and graciously touched down over the water.

As the hanger doors opened, Ashley along with eleven other Alliance soldiers carried the Salarian drive core out into the water placing it right by the generator. As two engineers went to work, Ashley reported, "Bomb is in position, we're all set! Ashley, Kirrahe, what's your stat?"

 _Commander, do you read?_ Kaidan asked. _The Geth have us pinned down on the AA tower and we've taken heavy casualties_. _We won't make it to the rendezvous point in time!_

"Joker, get over there and provide covering fire," Linda ordered Joker.

 _Negative! The AA towers are still active and the zone is too hot! We'll hold out as long as we can!_ Kaidan continued.

"Go get them commander. I'll stay here and help prep the nuke. We only need a few more minutes, then we'll be ready to get the hell out of dodge," Ashley said, gesturing to the hunk of metal.

"If you say so. Fredrick, stay here and help defend the site with Ashe and the others. Wrex, Garrus, and Tali will be coming with me. Liara, stay on the _Normandy_ and be ready to help with extraction if we're going to be running out of here. Joker, stay in the air and be ready to provide assistance. You know your jobs, people. Move out!" Shepard ordered before taking her squad down another corridor towards Kaidan's position.

After Linda and Joker left, the area became rather quiet. "I've got a bad feeling about this. Too open a space, not enough cover."

"I know, but we didn't have much on the ship that we could use as portable cover. Not against plasma rounds anyways. I just hope Skipper is quick over there," Ashely said, giving nervous glances in the air.

Fredrick heard a distinct humming sound in the air, somewhere in the distance. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" one marine asked.

"That. Right there. That sound," Fredrick said as the source got gradually closer.

"Yeah, I hear it. And that's most definitely not the _Normandy_ ," a second marine said. The humming became a roar as a Geth dropship in the distance came into view.

 _Heads up, chief! You've got a Geth dropship heading your way!_ Kaidan alerted them over the coms.

The ship stopped overhead and began to drop Geth heavy troopers near their position. "Too late! They're already here! And it's pouring heavies all over the bomb site!" In the hale of plasma fire, a few marines were caught off guard in the open, swiftly killed before they had a chance to retaliate.

 _Can you hold them off?_ Linda prompted.

After a few other soldiers were caught by stray bolts of plasma, Fredrick put up a biotic barrier to protect theme before answering, "We'll hold them off for now! Just hurry and get the LT, we'll be safe here!"

"I'm activating the nuke!" Ashley yelled.

Snapping his head around from the opposition, Fredrick saw Ashley making a beeline for the nuclear device. At the top of his lungs, he yelled, "Negative Ashe! Get over her and help defend! _We will hold these bastards off!_ Shepard, get to the AA tower and retrieve the others, these Geth won't be too problematic!"

 _I hope you're right. I really do hope so. Keep us in contact if the situation changes._ The line went silent before Fredrick turned his attention back to the Geth troops. Fortunately, the lack of cover served as a double edged sword, and while the Alliance soldiers had the benefit of a big, green biotic wall, the Geth were still left as sitting ducks in the open. Fredrick injected himself with another overclock stim as he struggled to keep the shield up against the barrage of plasma and the juggernaut's superior physical strength.

"You like that?" one marine yelled as he shot the flashlight off a destroyer.

As the juggernaut, the last Geth standing, fell, cheers went up from the marines. Fredrick sunk back against the wall with exhaustion as he finally let the barrier fall. Closing his eyes for a moment, he lay back to catch some breaths before continuing. His eyes shot open as the sound of biotic blasts filled his ears. Looking up, he saw Saren launching his own attack from a personal hovercraft overhead, sending some of the last marines flying like ragdolls. Fredrick started to return fire, managing to destroy the hovercraft before returning to cover to reload.

Standing up, "Saren" began to mock him. "An impressive diversion, my old friend! I truly can't believe my Geth took the bait! Shame it's all for naught. I can't let you stop what I've been accomplishing here. You'd never understand what's at stake here, Fredrick."

Fredrick's face burned with rage. How dare Nazara face him using this pathetic façade. "I damn well know the stakes, Saren. That's why I'm here to kill you!"

"You may not have seen the visions I've seen from the Prothean beacons, but you should still understand regardless. The Harvesters cannot be stopped! Don't waste your time with pointless revolt, Fredrick. They will win regardless of how hard you struggle. The Protheans discovered this the hard way. But maybe there's a different approach. A more tactical method. Wouldn't it be more effective to let them think they've won before undermining them from the inside outward?" Saren continued.

"You should understand yourself, having been long enough with Nazara. Haven't I taught you to see past the lies and manipulation?" Fredrick continued. "Their sole purpose is to consume, to maintain their cycle of 'balance'! You'd be turned into more bio-synthetic tissue before you could have a chance to stab them in the back!"

"This is why I kept this hidden from the Council, Fredrick. This is all for the long term. If we publicly revealed the Harvesters, it would only cause confusion and panic and the game would've been up. We organics think through emotion instead of logic, we continue to fight even when we know we cannot win. If we are to survive, we are to appeal to their logic, appear to be useful to them if we are to survive. Think of the lives we could save still!" Saren argued.

Fredrick had listened to enough of this husk's lies for a life time. Previously, he hoped there would be a wince of something salvageable to retrieve. In reality, this was only a shadow, nothing left to hold, but nothing left to mourn. Holstering his rifle, flinging a hand over the remaining marines to initiate a biotic stasis field, he countered, "I thought you'd still have one saving grace left, Saren. If we are to discuss the Galaxy's fate logically, perhaps you'd find it rather logical when I pound what's left of your skull inward like a dried up watermelon!" The two former allies biotically charged at each other one last time.

* * *

 **18 hrs/09 min/13 sec**

"Kaidan, Kirrahe, are you two alright?" Linda said as she put Kirrahe's arm over her shoulder.

"We're fine. How's Ashley and the others?" Kaidan asked.

"It's been a while since they checked in. I knew they should've activated that nuke," Wrex grunted.

"That doesn't necessarily mean they're all dead. There's got to be someone left, Fredrick wouldn't go down like that," Tali countered.

Raising her hand to her earpiece, Linda called out, "This is Shepard. Williams, do you read?" Only silence returned. "Dammit! Everyone, pack your stuff, we're heading back there and retaking the bombsite!" Fortunately, there was a lack of resistance remaining on their way back to where the nuke was located. As they made their way back out into the open, the team was greeted with the sight of five marines, Ashley included, under biotic stasis while Fredrick had what appeared to be Saren pinned down while he repeatedly slugged the infected Turian across the head. "Kaidan, hurry and get that nuke online. We'll cover you!"

Fredrick repeatedly pounded on "Saren's" barriers, desperate to kill the imposer underneath him. As the barriers finally failed, he was about to deliver one final killing blow when his attention was drawn behind him by a loud alarm. He saw Kaidan crouched by the nuke, successfully arming the device. As he turned back to Saren, Saren had mustered the strength to biotically throw Fredrick off of him, leaving his former mentor dazed in the water. As he rose to his feet, the biotic stasis finally failed, and Saren left on another hovercraft towards the silhouette of Nazara in the distance. After a brief pause, Linda shook him out of his enraged trance and ordered, "Fredrick! The nuke is armed and ready to blow in a few minutes! Load the injured onto the _Normandy_!"

* * *

 **19 hrs/00 min/03 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, en route to the Widow Nebula**

Fredrick didn't bother to attend the mission debriefing. While it was a significant relief that everyone besides a handful of marines and the majority of the STG task force had returned, he still couldn't shake the feeling of confronting Nazara again, or having to beat down Saren, only for him to escape last second due to very inconvenient timing. After coming back aboard, he grabbed a few ration bars, sat in the medbay with his helmet sitting on the desk beside him and his face planted right into his cupped hands to contemplate recent events. He heard the medbay doors open and someone stride in. By all guesses, it had to be Linda trying to confront him. "How can I help you commander?" he mumbled.

"I was hoping it would be the other way around. Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

He sighed, keeping his hands firmly affixed to his face. "I don't know. I hate to see him in this state, and I wish there's something I could do for him besides killing him. He's been locked away in his own mind for so long he's forgotten who he is. If you didn't notice with Liara on Noveria, there's some painful aspect about euthanizing level five's. Normally, when you euthanize someone with a chronic illness, you feel like you're doing them a favor. They know they're in pain and they actively want you to help end their suffering. When you euthanize someone who's heavily infected, they recognize nothing wrong. As far as they're concerned, life is normal, their actions are justified, and are suffering one long nightmare, hidden away from the horror of their actions. They don't want help and they'll be convinced to fight you rather than allowing you to help them. I've done this plenty of times before, and each one is just as painful as the last."

Linda paused before continuing. "I see. Liara's helped to interpret the beacon's contents, the Conduit is on Ilos in the Refuge System. Right now, we're heading back to the Citadel to get help before we head into the Terminus. If you need anything, let me know."

Lifting his head up to reveal his tear-filled eyes, he said, "Shepard, wait." Linda paused and turned around to face him. "When we go to Ilos to stop Saren, bring me along. There are a few things I'd like to put to rest before finally killing him."

Linda gave a lopsided smile. "Whatever helps."

* * *

(P.S.): Yes, Kaidan and Ashley both survive Virmire, but I mostly made this decision for a few reasons:

A) Fredrick is capable of this. It'll be a walk in the park.

B) Is there any difference whether you save Ashley or Kaidan besides minor banter changes? Seriously, the two have the overall impact on the story of a Nerf dart, so I personally think it's justified.

C) Considering their canon counterparts, I hate them both and would ditch both on Virmire at the drop of a hat if I could. That being said, I also hate very binary story choices.


	11. Chapter 11: Zero Hour

(A/N): Like before, I want to get this out of the way before Spring Break ends, and I want to at least conclude ME1.

Chapter 11: Zero Hour

 _I'm not a man to believe in superstitions, but if I were, I'd have to say fate is an absolute bitch. Whether I was meant to land right back here on the Citadel in this moment, I will never know. Nor will I ever know if this could've been avoided. What was it like for him in his final moments? Was he still in excruciating pain? Was he forced to watch and listen to what he did?_

* * *

 **June 17, 2183**

 **11 hrs/05 min/02 sec Local Time**

 **Citadel Station, SSV _Normandy_**

Stone walled. Again. The ship had returned to the Citadel after being called back by the council to physically prepare for "Saren's" inevitable attack. Unfortunately, their definition of preparation was to camp by the Citadel and all linking relays instead of pursuing their final lead on Saren's goals. Not even the idea of using the _Normandy_ 's stealth systems was considered as the council and Ambassador Udina locked their ship in dock. Needless to say, the entire team was disappointed and angry.

With his adrenaline glands manually cranked up to eleven, Fredrick was doing a Five Finger Fillet with some antsy marines in the dining room. Quickly but cautiously, he watched as his particle blade danced between the soldier's and his fingers and cut into the table underneath them. Eventually the cheers died down as Linda entered the room, no longer surprised by Fredrick's shenanigans. "Müller, come with me. Captain Anderson has a plan to get us out of here and after Saren. I also want to get a few upgrades before we leave."

"Fair enough. What do you need me for?" Fredrick said, walking away from the table.

"You're a loose cannon, but you've proven your worth. If Saren has any goons still waiting around to pick me off, I want to be ready for them. Now come along, we don't have much time," Shepard explained.

* * *

 **Citadel, outside of Flux**

 **11 hrs/25 min/06 sec**

"The hell is this? Armistice Day isn't for another two weeks," Fredrick questioned. It was the usual riots he had to endure in the few years after the end of the Relay 314 Incident, and not only was it early, but it was also taking form at an alarming rate.

The man before Fredrick was short, had black hair, a moderately thick beard, and brown eyes. "We're here early to get the message out to the alien appeasers on the Presidium that we want our voices heard. Pardon my behavior, but my name is Charles Saracino of the Terra Firma. I never got your name, you are?" Charles explained, holding out a name to shake.

Fredrick silently crossed his arms, ignoring the gesture.

Saracino raised an eyebrow before cautiously lowering his hand. "I see. What brings you here?"

"Official business. Fortunately, I'm not on riot duty any more, so this isn't necessarily my problem unless it really gets out of hand," Fredrick said, maintaining his hostile stance.

"Ah, you're an Aug, I suspected as much. Whatever you may feel about me and the party, we don't have bad intentions at heart. We simply wish to promote the ideal of Humans expressing the strength of our race more persistently in politics," Charles reasoned.

"Good luck explaining that, justifying the tens of thousands of racial incidents that have occurred within the last few decades. Because I can remember a few dozen instances where I had to step in and prevent such bigots from harming others or themselves even further," Fredrick countered, uncrossing his arms.

"Now listen, we in the Terra Firma party wish to have all our members express their right of free speech. Like I said, we wish to promote the ideal of Human strength in the Galaxy," Santiago emphasized with some annoyance.

"You're lucky I don't have the time to lop your head off and toss it into the crowd. It's people like you that've been nothing but trouble for Terrans like me. Neither you or us will be making any forward progress with bullshit like this reoccurring year after year." Fredrick was pretty much ready to tear Charles' throat out.

"Müller, we've got to go. Anderson has a plan," Linda said, as she and Garrus exited Flux behind him. Leaving the riots to continue as they made their way back to the _Normandy_ , Linda explained, "I already chewed his head off earlier. You find anything helpful in the markets?"

"Just a grenades mod, an HE ix. It should be good enough though," Fredrick said, showing the case he had in his other hand. "I also stocked up on some overclock stims for myself when we hit the ground on Ilos."

"Good. Anderson said that he'll shut down the lockdown from Udina's office, and allow us to head to Ilos," Linda returned.

"Christ, I hope he's got a plan of his own. I'd hate to see him court marshaled for that," Fredrick responded.

"We know. But I hope he won't have to once we prove ourselves in the right," Garrus said with optimism.

* * *

 **13 hrs/09 min/49 sec**

Cheers erupted throughout the ship as the _Normandy_ left the dock. For once, Fredrick felt an air of relief as they made their way through the Widow Relay. _"We are away and are en route to Ilos. ETA 13 hours. Hopefully we aren't_ too _late to prevent the end of the Universe or whatever,"_ Joker announced over the intercom. Satisfied, he returned to the medbay to contemplate his recent experiences. In retrospect, it was impressive how he, Wrex, a former street kid, and five other kids had managed to accomplish so much, putting much of his earlier work to shame. He had a constant smile as he cleaned his rifle.

As the medbay doors opened, he raised his head, expecting to see Linda walk it. He raised a curious eyebrow as he saw Kaidan enter instead. "What can I help you with, lieutenant? Experiencing migraines?" He felt secretly embarrassed that he'd failed to have any actual conversations with the kid. In his own defense, all he really had to say was that he didn't previously know of Kaidan compared to the others, and that Kaidan didn't really have all too much worth knowing about his past.

Kaidan cautiously took a few breaths before starting, "No, it's something else. I wanted to have a talk with Shepard, but her door's locked and I don't know if she's alright or not."

"Her health was in excellent condition last time I checked. I'm not sure if I can be of any help, but what is it you need to discuss?" Fredrick asked, putting down his rifle.

Scratching the back of his head, Kaidan continued, "Well, it's not exactly like that. You've got x-ray vision, right?"

"Pretty much. Are you asking me to spy on the commander?" Fredrick inquired further.

"Yeah. I just wanted to have a personal talk with her and I wanted to see if she was alright. You know, without disturbing her at all," Kaidan finished.

"No problem, but don't you fucking pin the blame on me if thing go south, alright?" Fredrick demanded as he rose from his seat and exited the medbay.

"Yeah, no problem. So what is she doing?" Kaidan asked one more time.

Initiating his ocular enhancements, Fredrick was honestly taken aback by what he saw. He knew that Linda and Garrus had a friendship between the two of them, but he hadn't anticipated that their relationship had progressed at the rate it did. Additionally, he was surprised that their... biology... was even remotely compatible.

"So? What's going on in there?" Kaidan persisted like a child asking his friend what he saw on the other side of a fence.

Deciding to do the two some decency, he turned off his implant, turned to Kaidan, and simply answered, "She's having a personal talk with Garrus. Should I take a message for her?"

Kaidan's curious face was suddenly replaced with a somber one before he spoke up. "Oh, I see. What are they talking about?"

Becoming increasingly tired of Kaidan's persistent questions, he answered, "I may have enhanced senses, but only they are capable of so much beyond normal senses. If I were to hear their conversation, I still have to listen to several different elements that make up the wall between this block of air and their block of air. For now, I'd suggest you can it. But, if you really are demotivated by this, don't worry too much about it. There's plenty of fish in the ocean and still a life time of encounters ahead of you."

Now it was Kaidan's turn to be taken aback. "Wait, what? I- no... I don't..."

"Come off it. You and Liara have been giving Shepard doe eyes for the entirety of this mission, and I don't need to go chapter and verse about what sort of hormones you two have been putting out," Fredrick explained.

"Yeah yeah. Just don't tell Shepard about this, okay?" Kaidan finished.

"Whatever works."

* * *

 **June 18, 2183**

 **13 hrs/07 min/08 sec Local Time**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , orbit over Ilos, Refuge System, Mu System**

"Commander, we've got company," Joker said as he looked over the scanner system.

"Have they picked us up yet?" The entire away team was already in armor and prepared to get into the Mako.

"Stealth systems are engaged. Unless we get close enough for a visual, they don't have a clue," Joker informed.

"Picking up some rather interesting readings from the surface," Kaidan reported from his usual spot in the copilot seat. "Not exactly sure what it is."

"Take us in Joker, and lock in on those coordinates," Linda ordered.

"I don't know about that, Shepard. That'd be incredibly risky," Fredrick reported as he looked over Kaidan's shoulder. To have a safe landing area, we'd have to cover two kilometers to make up for it.

"We'll never make it in time on foot. Find somewhere closer," Ashley pointed out.

"That's it! There is none! If we're going to do a proper drop, we'd need at least one hundred meters of open terrain. The most I can find that's near to Saren is twenty!" Kaidan returned.

"Twenty?! Shit, how the hell are we supposed to land in those conditions?" Ashley returned.

"We have to try, we're running out of time!" Garrus exclaimed.

"Are there no other landing zones?" Ashley persisted.

"I just said the most sufficient location is two kilometers!" Fredrick exclaimed.

"That angle is too steep! The Mako won't survive the impact!" Tali said, looking over the statistics on her omnitool.

"Like we've got a choice!" Wrex injected.

Ashley sighed with nervous frustration. "We don't have an option! Getting in that close would be a suicide run! We don't-"

"Guys! I can make this! Just get into the Mako, get me the coordinates, and I'll make the run!" Joker yelled.

"You heard him, let's go. Joker, drop us right on that bastard's head," Linda ordered. As they whole team made their way down to the Mako, Linda and Fredrick lagged behind. "I noticed you and Nazara knew each other very well by the time we finished up with the Prothean beacon on Virmire. Care to explain?"

"Nazara has been the primary Harvester unit I and the rest of the Terran Republic have been facing off against for a while. I first knew about him during a similar incident on the Citadel over a century ago, but we didn't know who he was until about fifty cycles prior to today. He made the offer of 'uplifting' us if we 'helped' him with his cause. I rejected it, and we've been at each other for years afterward in a cold war of sorts," Fredrick answered as quickly as he could.

Shepard shrugged before responding, "That explains that mess."

* * *

 **13 hrs/27 min/47 sec**

 **Ilos**

The team was already one step behind Saren. They only had a brief sight of the infected Turian before he disappeared into the Prothean structure. Making their way into the ancient security complex nearby, the team continued to plow through Geth forces. Clearing the security room of all Geth resistance, the team entered the security control room and approached a series of consoles against the wall. Activating one and tapping a few buttons, Linda deactivated the security lockdown on the other building. "That should do it. We should get moving, Saren already has enough of a head start and we need to get to the Conduit," Fredrick said.

"Unless he's already found it, then chances are he's setting us a surprise party," Wrex grunted sarcastically.

As the group turned to move out, the console flashed a distorted image, prompting the team to look back around at it. "What the hell?" Ashley asked.

 _"... too late ... unable to ... invading fleets ... no escape ..."_ the recording played, cutting in and out.

"Liara, if you understand anything it's saying, I'd say your expertise best comes into play now, because that doesn't sound like anything I've heard before," Kaidan commented.

"I do, except the file is damaged. The words make sense, but the rest is distorted," Liara answered.

"Same here," Linda said. "Must be because of the Cipher from earlier. By the sounds of it, it's an emergency recording, too late to prevent anything." With this in mind, Fredrick decided to keep silent. He wasn't entirely sure if he understood because of Liara's shared knowledge or bits he understood about the Harvesters in general. Either way, it wasn't a risk worth taking.

 _"... not safe,"_ the recording continued. _"... seek refuge ... -side the archives ... -alled Reapers ... the Citadel ... overwhelmed ... only hope ... "_ Suddenly, there was a change in voice. _"... act of desperation ... the Conduit ... all is lost!"_

"Something about the Conduit, but it's too degraded to help," Linda said as the recording continued to loop on the words "cannot be stopped."

"Let's go, we've wasted enough time," Wrex said.

* * *

 **13 hrs/43 min/18 sec**

"Christ, are those all stasis pods?" Fredrick asked as he glanced out the front of the vehicle. As Ashley continued to blast away Geth units and Tali kept an eye on the radar, the vehicle traveled through long canyons of metal, lined with long canisters extended from the walls.

"Keelah... those corridors stretch on for a while. How many do you think there are?" Tali asked, looking at her screens.

"Not sure. I might have an estimate if I got out and looked at the height, but we don't exactly have time," Fredrick answered. The team drove further and further down into the bowls of the facility until they saw a wall of what looked like hardlight blocking the end of the row.

"Something's off, Skipper. We should probably cut off short before we head in there," Ashley said, eyeing the wall through her position on the tank gun.

"We'll figure out how we can shut it off when we get there," Linda replied.

As the Mako entered, another hardlight wall formed behind the vehicle, effectively boxing them in. "Shit! Ambush!" Fredrick cursed.

"Relax, I don't think Saren set this up," Garrus said, peering outside of the vehicle with his rifle in hand. "Looks like there's an elevator over there. Maybe we can shut it off wherever that leads." The whole team unloaded into the elevator and rode silently deeper into the underground of the Prothean structure. At the end of the ride, the team was presented with a walkway leading to another monitor between two more walls of extended stasis pods.

As they got closer, the monitor came to life, displaying another distorted projection. "You are not Prothean, but most of you are not machine either. This was one of many anticipated outcomes. This was why we saved our warnings in the many beacons strewn throughout the Galaxy," the monitor echoed in multiple familiar languages.

"Looks like a Prothean VI. It's not as badly damaged as some I've seen, but I've never seen any operate with a current language before," Fredrick said, getting closer to observe.

"I've been tracking your progress through the facility and have modified my vocal construct to a format you may comprehend. I do not detect the symptoms of indoctrination upon any of, unlike the other that had passed through here recently. Perhaps there is still some hope. My name is Vigil, and you are safe here for the moment. But that will likely change when the aforementioned indoctrinated individual restarts the Citadel Relay," Vigil explained.

"The Citadel?" Fredrick asked. "So it's true the Citadel is the key to the Harvesters gaining easy access in and out of the Galaxy?"

"It is true. For millions of years, civilization after civilization has used the structure as its heart of government. For millions of years, civilizations have suffered the same trap. As I stated prior, the Citadel is actually an enormous Mass Relay that links to beyond of horizon of the Galaxy where the Reapers resides, whatever you may call them, between cycles. In the decades that followed, they used all our records of locations, records of military strategy, and their control of the Relays against us, systematically driving the Protheans into extinction. With captured and indoctrinated Protheans, the Reapers sent them into pockets of fugitives and resistance fighters, only to sell them out. Once the cleaning had ended, the indoctrinated too were consumed by the Reapers before they returned to beyond the Citadel Relay," Vigil further explained.

"The Reapers could wipe out the entire Citadel fleet and the council in a single surprise attack! But why would they need the Conduit if all they needed to do is open the Relay? And what happened to the Protheans here?" Linda asked after the revelation.

"After the Protheans realized the cause of their undoing, they made one last defiant act in the waning days of the Empire. Each cycle, the Reapers sent a signal through the Citadel causing the Keepers, a synthetic race designed to maintain the Relay, to activate the Citadel, allowing each cycle of destruction. With one final effort, the Protheans sabotaged the signal, preventing the Keepers from acting. However, in their haste, the Protheans were unable to disable the Conduit here on Ilos. Towards the end of their cycle, the Protheans sought to better understand the technology behind the Mass Relays, and as such built a smaller scale of the Reaper built structures, with another that links onto the Citadel in the Presidium," Vigil answered.

"Ah fuck! The Conduit is not some form of remote access, it's a back door to slip past the fleet! We've got no time to lose!" Fredrick exclaimed as he turned for the elevator.

"Wait, all is not lost. The Protheans in this lab developed on last measure to prevent the Reapers from returning. Using the same software they used to sabotage the Keeper signal, they made a virus that grants temporary control of the Relay station, even preventing the powering up of the Mass Relay," Vigil said as a small device ejected from the console.

"In case everyone forgot, Vigil has been actively avoiding the question about the fate of these Protheans," Kaidan said, gesturing to the open pods around them.

Vigil actively paused for a brief moment before answering. "The Protheans within this lab counted to the tens of thousands when the Reapers arrived. They planned to hide in here and wait for the passing of the reaping. But these invasions can extend over great stretches of time before they finally end, and the scientists had not anticipated such energy reserves would be required. To maintain activity, one by one, the power to the non-essential personnel such as security were deactivated first. The vast majority of the personnel had been sacrificed by the time the head scientists had properly awoken. By the time they'd come to, they realized what remained was too little to maintain the longevity of the Prothean species."

"Those scientists and soldiers trusted you!" Garrus growled angrily. "I bet those troopers didn't know they were expendable when they first signed on!"

"Enough Garrus," Linda chastised as she grabbed the OSD. "Saren's had enough of a head start to begin with. Let's get back to the Citadel before it's too late."

The group turned away and began to return to the elevator. Observing for a few seconds longer, Fredrick was the last to turn around when Vigil said one last thing to him. "You will not win."

Fredrick, turning to give a glare asked, "Excuse me?"

"I know who you are now. I've deferred what you are based upon what you've said and the components you carry. You may have hidden yourself very well against the others' prying eyes, but they will find and destroy you eventually," Vigil stated defiantly.

Turning around fully, Fredrick growled angrily, "For the last time. Just because I'm not entirely organic doesn't make me the enemy."

"Fredrick! Is everything alright over there?" Wrex hollered.

"One moment!" Fredrick called back before turning to catch up.

"That's not what I mean," Vigil said as Fredrick faded away.

* * *

 **14 hrs/03 min/52 sec**

"There's the Conduit, and it's still active!" Fredrick declared as the Mako came into view of their objective. The Geth had already arrived, and they'd not only established positions all along the way there, but also multiple colossi at the Conduit.

"Shepard! Radar's reading that the structure's beginning to shut down! We won't make it!" Tali cried from her seat.

"Not if I have a damn thing to say about it!" Linda yelled before putting her foot on the accelerator.

"Spirits, woman! Are you crazy?! We'll never survive a concentrated amount of fire in that magnitude!" Garrus cried in panic. The team watched in horror was Linda raced the Mako forward and as the shields around the vehicle deteriorated. As the Mako entered the Conduit last second, the vehicle was launched into the sky, causing Fredrick, the only one unbuckled to a seat, to be pressed against the back of the vehicle. Praying that he would survive, he was temporarily relieved when the centrifugal force died down before bouncing around in the cabin as the vehicle came to a stop in the now battle-ruined Presidium. Painfully, all members of the team crawled out of the Mako, Fredrick included.

"I hope to God we never have to do that again," Ashley proclaimed as she attempted to rub a spot on her back.

Looking back inside, Fredrick noticed all sorts of dents in the cabin created by him bouncing around like a pinball. "I'm surprised any of you are still alive," he added with an exhausted glare.

* * *

 **12 hrs/08 sec/04 sec**

 **Citadel Tower, Citadel Station**

The world around every one of them became a mad dash as they ran through the station, past the various synthesized dead, lingering Geth units, and Krogan clones. After being forced out of the elevator and out into the vacuum of the Citadel exterior, the team advanced to the top of the tower with a glaring open view of Nazara in the distance, connected to the tower with arcs of red energy connecting the two. Wave after wave, the team finally reached an emergency hatch leading into the tower chamber. All eight teammates entered only to be greeted by one last line of defense set up the Geth, keeping them separated from Saren. Still at the bottom of the stairs, the team took cover as plasma rounds whizzed through the open. "We're running out of time! Fredrick, get up there while we take care of the rest of the Geth. Saren must not start up the Relay!"

"I'm on it!" Fredrick replied as he injected himself with another overclock stim. In one swift movement, he dropped the needle, ran out into the open, and activated his nanite shield. Dashing past with his implants and biotics, he blindly ran past all Geth opposition, watching as their plasma shots harmlessly dissipated on the sea of inky blackness. Leaping up the stairs, he came to a halt at the sight of Saren on an extended bridge facing a console where the council's podiums were, taping at a large orange screen. "Saren!" he screamed, catching his former protege's attention. As Saren began to jump down in the pit underneath the chamber, he caught the Turian using his biotics and flung him through a pillar to the left.

Cautiously striding forward and switching out his rifle for his side arm, Fredrick continued to keep Saren pinned down behind the rubble. "Since we're alone temporarily, I have one last thing to put aside," he grumbled as he dropped the nanite shield. "You know what? Fine! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I molded you after the skull-fucked individual I am! I'm sorry I decided to shift the pressure to you! I'm sorry forced you down the path that would eventually lead you to become a twisted slave for the enemy! Do you hear me in there, Saren?!"

As Fredrick came into full view of Saren behind cover, Saren was now clutching his head with great pain. "I know, and I'm sorry as well. I thought I could withstand them, but I couldn't keep them out of my head! After Virmire, and that brief encounter, he shoved several additional implants into me. Please, end this madness," voice filled with anguish.

Fredrick centered his aim on Saren's head as he said, "I'm sorry to see you like this, Saren. It was an honor, and I'll see you in a better place." Suddenly, Saren used his biotics to fling a piece of debris at Fredrick, knocking him off his feet. As Fredrick rose back up, he saw Saren's blue eyes had been replaced with an angry red glow, and was now frozen in his crouching stance.

"It's a shame you couldn't truly see the universe from our perspective, Saren," Nazara's voice boomed from some indistinguishable source. "And you, Fredrick. Time and time again, you've been nothing but constant annoyance, causing drawback after drawback for the inevitable. Perhaps it isn't too late to kill two birds with one stone!"

Saren, now unfrozen, involuntarily rose to his feet as the red light out of his eyes increased and cracks all along his skin formed, seeping additional red light. Lifted off his feet by an unseen force, Saren was lifted up for all to see as Shepard and the others came up the stairs. Dropping to the ground, Saren still resembled his current form with the addition of red lights covering his body and extending from his eyes. As the team was thrown about by a shockwave, Fredrick rolled to the side and continued to fire upon what remained of Saren. Saren simply lept to a position out of sight and further away from the control console. "Shepard, get to work with Virgil's codes, I'll cover you!"

"You really don't think you'll be able to take that thing down, do you?" Linda asked as she rose to her feet.

"Oh I know I will. Now go!" he exclaimed as he switched back to his rifle.

As Saren-Nazara lept back and forth, narrowly dodging Fredrick's particle fire, he continued to hear quips of pain and agony from Saren, such as, "Fredrick, please kill me," in a mechanical monotone voice. Simultaneously, Nazara would taunt through Saren, saying, "What do you really hope to achieve? Do you really think the cycle has an alternative?" or "I should've done this long ago! You could've avoided this had you simply joined us!"

Among the chaos, his telecom implant rang with activity. _Fred? Fredrick, are you there?_ a familiar voice called.

With utter relief, Fredrick took cover behind another pillar as he responded, "Amory, is that you?"

 _Yeah! I'm here with the majority of the Alliance fleet at Arcturus Station. The Terran Navy is running a joint operation to retake the Citadel. What's the plan?_ Amory continued.

"The Citadel is currently closed, Linda is struggling to keep the Citadel Relay offline. She'll probably try to get the station open to expose Nazara. Get ready to take it out when the arms open," Fredrick answered.

 _Relay? And that's really Nazara? What the hell is going on?_ Amory asked with increasing confusion.

Rolling from cover and continuing to fire on the controlled Saren, Fredrick answered, "That's Nazara, and the Citadel station is actually another Mass Relay, and is how the Harvesters enter the Galaxy for each cycle."

 _Oh my god... We're on our way through to the Widow Relay. What are we to do about the Council forces? They're on the verge of being overwhelmed and the council is all huddled up on the_ Destiny Ascension _. What about them?_ Amory asked.

"Nevermind the council! If we don't haul ass to tear Nazara apart, then we're all fucking dead, you hear me?" Fredrick yelled, narrowly dodging a warp from Saren.

 _Got it! God, I you're still an ass like ever._ As the connection cut out, the others caught up with him and engaged in combat with Saren, Linda took cover along side Fredrick.

"The arms are opened and the station is not powering up any time soon. The Alliance Fleet will be assisting the _Destiny Ascension_ before moving on to deal with Nazara," she explained.

As Saren returned to the top of the stairs, Fredrick switched out his rifle back to his pistol before asking, "Are you sure that's a good idea? The Terran Navy will be dealing with Nazara directly, but do you think we'll have enough time?"

"It will work!"

Nazara continued to take direct control of Saren's remains, causing the former Specter to jump around repeatedly to avoid their collective fire. Gradually, the team slowly whittled down the corrupted form. As Saren stumbled at the top of the stairs, Fredrick biotically charged at Saren pinning him to the ground. As Nazara gave one last scream at him, Fredrick took the opportunity to stick his pistol in Saren's gaping maw and pulled the trigger. Finally coming to a dead stop, the red lights died, and Saren's corpse slowly began to turn to dust and ash. Time seemed to slow down once more as he stood up and looked down. Feeling his breathing becoming labored from both exhaustion and emotional pain, he leaned over to retrieve his Specter ID tags to hand back to the Specter academy afterwards. He continued to stand and stare at the armor as ashes poured from the neck piece. "Rest well, son."

"Look out!" Tali cried, snapping him back to reality. He looked out the window to see the concentrated fire of the Citadel fleet, Alliance Navy, and Terran Navy tearing through what was left of Nazara, destroying it in an enormous fireball. Unfortunately, a single piece of debris flew towards the tower at an alarming speed.

"Everyone get to cover!" Linda ordered. Everyone made a swift dash to one of the offices along the sides of the lower chamber and grabbed on to the environment as the piece of Nazara broke the window viewing out into space, creating a vacuum that threatened to freeze the whole team.

Fredrick was loosely clinging onto the bottom of the staircase when the chamber depressurized. _"Why do I truly fight?"_ He thought as he reverted back inward. _"If all I feel is pain every step of the way, how have I not surrendered?"_ He suddenly let go of the staircase, and allowed himself to fall backward. Before lack of pressure could throw him outside, his hand caught the edge of railing leading onto the bridge to the control panel. _"I fight for them,"_ he reminded himself. _"My friends who are here, those I've lost to these bastards, those who are oblivious, and unfortunately those who willingly blind themselves to the reality of matters."_ As he continued to contemplate, he dropped down further to the console and tapped a few buttons, causing a door to close over the broken window. As he got up and walked back into the open, he looked downward upon the seven other members of the _Normandy_ away team. _"Crisis averted for the time being."_

* * *

 **June 23, 2183**

 **13 hrs/27 min/30 min**

 **Citadel Station, Flux**

"To the _Normandy_ and her ability to take us to hell and back!" Linda said, raising her glass in toast to their accomplishments.

"To the _Normandy_!" the whole crew had reserved several tables at Flux, non-Alliance personnel included.

Fredrick edged a bit closer to Linda to ask, "Tell me Sparatus didn't find something to pin blame on you with this time!"

Rolling her eyes and smiling, Shepard responded over the noise within the bar, "Not yet. They're sending me after pockets of Geth unfortunately instead of something more useful. It's a reluctant acknowledgment to say the very least!"

"You sure helping them was a good idea?" Fredrick asked.

Scoffing, she returned, "Goddamit guys! Do any of you any sense of political negotiation?" prompting plenty of laughter and groans.

For the moment being, they had averted the Reaper crisis, Captain Anderson had been made the first Human councilor, the council had their sights of the Reapers for once, even if it was to quell public rumors. Unfortunately, life was going to revert more or less back to normal now that Saren and the Geth under "his" control were dealt with and scattered. Ashley and Kaidan would still be on the _Normandy_ , Liara would be returning to Thessia to attend her mother's funeral before going to Illium concerning inheritance and leftover property, Tali would be residing on the _Normandy_ till she had what she needed for her Pilgrimage, Garrus would return to the Specter academy and give being a Specter another chance, Wrex wished to return to Tachunka now that he had his family armor back, Linda would be spearheading efforts to deal with remaining Geth before moving onto finding more on the Reapers, and Fredrick would be returning to Khonsu to prepare for the Harvesters now that they had actual data to make developments around.

Even this moment of temporary triumph helped him to look forward for what lay ahead. The friends around him, the tingle of booze in his system, the brief sense of genuine accomplishment, the interpersonal connections the team have with each other, and Nazara's death collectively made him feel happy, even with the scenery of destruction around them after the Geth and Nazara's remains destroyed some of the infrastructure. The only downside to this triumph was how quickly the council was to denounce Saren as just a traitor, ignoring how Saren's mental health had completely deteriorated based upon the records he'd established from scans within the last several days. Even as he looked towards the future, the uncertainty lingered as the war with the Harvesters seemed so far, yet so close.

But even the briefest of happy moments can help deter the effects of significantly unfavorable odds and crumbling hope.

* * *

(P.S.): For now, that concludes ME1. As planned, I'll be continuing with ME2 and eventually ME3. I'm not sure about some ME:A spin-off yet. I'll be having references in place and even set some characters to be in my fabrication of that story line should I feel like writing it, but I'm thinking of keeping that aside until I know properly what to write. I know that this is one of many stories that have been swept under the rug, but it's the thought that counts, so please do leave feedback.


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